井守

Japanese

Kanji in this term
井	守
い Grade: 4	も(り) Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
蠑螈 (rare)

井守 (imori): a salamander or newt.

Etymology

Compound of 井 (i, “well”) +‎ 守り (mori, “protector, guardian”, 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 守る moru, “to protect, to guard”).

First cited to roughly 900 CE.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) い​もり [íꜜmòrì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [imo̞ɾʲi]

Noun

井(い)守(もり) or 井守(イモリ) • (imori) ^{←ゐもり (wimori) or ヰモリ (wimori)?}

1. 蠑螈: a salamandrid
2. Short for 赤腹井守 (akahara imori, “Japanese fire belly newt”).
3. (history) a job title in the Edo period and earlier, referring to an assistant to the 井司 (ishi, literally “well boss”), both jobs in charge of aspects of the irrigation system

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as イモリ.