でかい
Japanese edit
Etymology edit
Found in Hida dialect during the Edo period.[1]
Generally considered to be a variation from どいかい (doikai), from the emphasizing prefix ど (do-, “very”) and the adjective 厳い (ikai, “great, huge, many”). The Nihon Kokugo Daijiten states that the sound change of /doikai/ → /dekai/ does not match the facts of the term's development. However, the /oi/ → /e/ sound shift is quite common in Japanese, and the question may hinge on which form appeared first, でかい (dekai) or でっかい (dekkai). If でかい (dekai) evolved from でっかい (dekkai) instead of the other way around, the do + ikai derivation would not explain the geminate /-kk-/ in でっかい (dekkai). The Nihon Kokugo Daijiten suggests an alternative derivation of でこ (deko, “hugely, enormously”, adverb; old slang or dialect term, persisting in modern でこでこ (dekodeko)) + 厳い (ikai, “great, huge, many”):[2] */deko ikai/ → */dekoikai/ → */dekekai/ → /dekkai/ → /dekai/.
Also said to be the adjective form of でかし, from いでかす, transitive of 出で来 (ideku, “to appear”).[3] However, the semantic development required for this is improbable, and this is more likely a folk etymology.
Pronunciation edit
- Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "でかい"
| Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary | |||
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Continuative (連用形) | でかく | でかく でかく |
[déꜜkàkù] [dèkáꜜkù] |
| Terminal (終止形) | でかい | でかい | [dèkáꜜì] |
| Attributive (連体形) | でかい | でかい | [dèkáꜜì] |
| Key constructions | |||
| Informal negative | でかくない | でかくない でかくない |
[déꜜkàkùnàì] [dèkáꜜkùnàì] |
| Informal past | でかかった | でかかった でかかった |
[déꜜkàkàttà] [dèkáꜜkàttà] |
| Informal negative past | でかくなかった | でかくなかった でかくなかった |
[déꜜkàkùnàkàttà] [dèkáꜜkùnàkàttà] |
| Formal | でかいです | でかいです | [dèkáꜜìdèsù] |
| Conjunctive | でかくて | でかくて でかくて |
[déꜜkàkùtè] [dèkáꜜkùtè] |
| Conditional | でかければ | でかければ でかければ |
[déꜜkàkèrèbà] [dèkáꜜkèrèbà] |
Adjective edit
でかい • (dekai) -i (adverbial でかく (dekaku))
- (colloquial) huge, big, severe, intense
Inflection edit
| Stem forms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperfective (未然形) | でかかろ | dekakaro | |
| Continuative (連用形) | でかく | dekaku | |
| Terminal (終止形) | でかい | dekai | |
| Attributive (連体形) | でかい | dekai | |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | でかけれ | dekakere | |
| Imperative (命令形) | でかかれ | dekakare | |
| Key constructions | |||
| Informal negative | でかくない | dekaku nai | |
| Informal past | でかかった | dekakatta | |
| Informal negative past | でかくなかった | dekaku nakatta | |
| Formal | でかいです | dekai desu | |
| Formal negative | でかくないです | dekaku nai desu | |
| Formal past | でかかったです | dekakatta desu | |
| Formal negative past | でかくなかったです | dekaku nakatta desu | |
| Conjunctive | でかくて | dekakute | |
| Conditional | でかければ | dekakereba | |
| Provisional | でかかったら | dekakattara | |
| Volitional | でかかろう | dekakarō | |
| Adverbial | でかく | dekaku | |
| Degree | でかさ | dekasa | |
Synonyms edit
- (size): 大きい (ōkii)
- (degree): 甚だしい (hanahadashii)
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ “江戸時代の飛騨方言・でかい”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[1], 2017 July 15 (last accessed), archived from the original on 6 November 2018
- ^ 知ってそうで知らない「でかい」の語源 : 李も桃もモモのうち。
- ^ でかい - 語源由来辞典
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN