こし

See also: こじ, ごし, and ごじ

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
腰

From Old Japanese. First appears in the Kojiki of 712 CE. In turn from Proto-Japonic *kəsi.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こし [kòshí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɕi]

Noun

こし or コシ • (koshi) 

1. the waist, the (lower) back, the small of the back
2. (anatomy) the lumbar region
3. the skirting of a shoji
4. the third line of a waka or tanka poem (from the way that the next two lines are longer, similar to the way the body gets wider at the hips)
5. (of food) chewiness; springiness

   コシのある蕎(そ)麦(ば)

   koshi no aru soba

   springy soba

Derived terms

• 腰(こし)掛(か)ける (koshikakeru, “to sit down”)
• 腰(こし)抜(ぬ)け (koshinuke, “coward”)

See also

• 胴(どう)のくびれ (dō no kubire)
• 腰(よう)部(ぶ) (yōbu)
• 胴(どう)回(まわ)り (dōmawari)

Etymology 2

Alternative spelling
輿

輿 (koshi): a palanquin used by an imperial reenactor during a matsuri.

First cited to The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter in the late-800s, early 900s. Further derivation uncertain. May be the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 越す (kosu, “to move something from one place to another”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こ​し [kóꜜshì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɕi]

Noun

こし • (koshi) 

1. palanquin, litter

Etymology 3

Alternative spelling
層

From Old Japanese. Cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.

Theorized to be an extension of the hip sense from the way that upper storeys in older Japanese architecture were usually smaller, resulting in a hipped effect similar to the way that the waist may be narrower than the hips on a person's body.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɕi]

Noun

こし • (koshi) 

1. (rare, possibly obsolete, architecture) a storey

Usage notes

This reading has fallen out of use and been replaced by the Middle Chinese-derived sō reading. See the 層 entry for more.

Etymology 4

Alternative spelling
濃し

Adjective

こし • (koshi) ^†-ku

1. classical terminal form of modern adjective 濃い (koi, “thick in consistency; deep in color; rich in flavor”)

Etymology 5

For pronunciation and definitions of こし – see the following entries: 古史, 古址, 古祠, 古詩, 虎子, 虎視, 古紙, 枯死, 雇使, 顧思, 顧視

(The following entries are uncreated: 古史, 古址, 古祠, 古詩, 虎子, 虎視, 古紙, 枯死, 雇使, 顧思, 顧視.)