すみ

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
炭

From Old Japanese, first appearing in 762 CE. Cognate with 墨 (sumi, “ink; India ink”).

In turn, from Proto-Japonic *sumi. Cognate with Miyako 炭 (sïm), Okinawan 炭 (shimi), Yaeyama 炭 (sïn).

Possibly derived from the homophonous 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) 済み (sumi) of verb 済む (sumu, “to finish, to conclude”), from the way that cinders are left after a fire has finished burning.

Possibly also related to 煤 (susu, “soot”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) すみ​ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [sɨᵝmʲi]

Noun

すみ • (sumi) ^{←すみ (sumi)?}

1. [from 762] charcoal

   Synonyms: (literally “wood charcoal”) 木炭 (mokutan), (rare reading) 木炭 (kizumi), (very rare as standalone noun; see below) 炭 (tan)

2. [from early 900s] a coal or cinder from a fire

   Synonym: (literally “extinguished coal/cinder”) 消し炭 (keshizumi)

3. [date uncertain] (rare) coal (fossil fuel)

   Synonyms: (literally “stone charcoal”) 石炭 (sekitan), (rare reading) 石炭 (ishizumi), (very rare as standalone noun; see below) 炭 (tan)

Etymology 2

Alternative spelling
墨

From Old Japanese, first appearing in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE with the phonetic spelling 須彌 ⟨sumi₁⟩. Cognate with 炭 (sumi, “charcoal”).

In turn, from Proto-Japonic *sumi. Cognate with Southern Amami-Oshima 墨 (sïmi).

Possibly derived from the homophonous 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) 済み (sumi) of verb 済む (sumu, “to finish, to conclude”), from the way that cinders are left after a fire has finished burning.

Possibly also related to 煤 (susu, “soot”), from which India ink is made.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) すみ​ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [sɨᵝmʲi]

Noun

すみ • (sumi) ^{←すみ (sumi)?}

1. ink
2. (specifically) India ink

Etymology 3

Alternative spelling
済み

From the verb 済む (sumu, “to settle, to conclude, to finish”, first attested with this sense in the early 1300s), in turn from 澄む・清む (sumu, “to settle, to become clear”), from Old Japanese.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) すみ​ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [sɨᵝmʲi]

Noun

すみ • (sumi) ^{←すみ (sumi)?}

1. [date uncertain] finish, completion, conclusion

Derived terms

• 済(ず)み (-zumi)

Verb

すみ • (sumi) ^{←すみ (sumi)?}

1. stem or continuative form of すむ (sumu) [godan]

Etymology 4

Alternative spellings
隅 角

From Old Japanese, first appearing in the Kojiki of 712 with the phonetic spelling 須美 ⟨sumi₁⟩.

Considering the different pitch accent, this appears to be unrelated to the "charcoal; ink; finish" senses.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) す​み [súꜜmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [sɨᵝmʲi]

Noun

すみ • (sumi) ^{←すみ (sumi)?}

1. interior corner (e.g., of a room or board surface), nook

See also

• 隅々(すみずみ) (sumizumi, “all over, everywhere”, literally “corner-corner”) (compare the English expression "from corner to corner")
• 隅(すみ)から隅(すみ)まで (sumi kara sumi made, “from corner to corner”, adverb)
• 角(かど) (kado, “exterior corner”)
• コーナー (kōnā)

Proper noun

すみ • (Sumi) ^{←すみ (sumi)?}

1. a surname

Etymology 5

Alternative spelling
酸味

From 酸 (su, the stem of adjective 酸い (sui, “sour”)) +‎ み (-mi, “-ness”, specifically for subjective impressions). The use of the 味 kanji is an example of ateji (当て字), in this case, phonosemantic matching with a possible conflation of senses.

First cited to a text from 1833.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) す​み [súꜜmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) すみ​ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [sɨᵝmʲi]

Noun

すみ • (sumi) ^{←すみ (sumi)?}

1. [from 1833] sourness, sour taste, sour flavor

Okinawan

Noun

すみ (sumi) 

1. 趣味: hobby; taste, preference