Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Alternative spelling

First attested in the Soga Monogatari (c. 14th century).

Likely a shortening from 虚ろ (utsuro, hollow place).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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うろ (uro

  1. : a hollow place
Descendants
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  • Yaeyama: うる (uru, Taketomi dialect)

Etymology 2

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Shift from おろ (oro, insufficent).[4]

Affix

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うろ (uro

  1. somewhat insufficiently uncertain
Usage notes
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Used in the compound うろ覚え (urooboe, uncertain memory).

Etymology 3

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Abbreviation of 道路 (douro, road).[5]

Noun

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うろ (uro

  1. (slang, used by criminals) a road

Etymology 4

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For pronunciation and definitions of うろ – see the following entries.
烏鷺
[noun] crows and herons
[noun] black and white
[noun] (figurative) go (board game)
雨露
[noun] rain and dew
[noun] (from land becoming wet due to rain and dew) a great fortune or grace
(This term, うろ (uro), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as うろ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as うろ.)

(The following entries are uncreated: 有漏, 迂路, 迂鹵.)

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 うろ 【虚】 ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
    The 語源説 (gogensetsu, etymology theory) section in the unabridged version says:
    ウツロの中略か〔志不可起・俚言集覧・語簏・大言海〕。
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  4. ^ うろ ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[2] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
  5. ^ うろ ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[3] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
    The concise edition does not have this entry.