へみゆみ

Japanese

Etymology

Attested only once in the Minamoto no Shitagōshū (源順集) of circa 983 CE.^[1]

Possibly cognate with Old Japanese ひみ (pi₂mi₁, unknown; a type of tree made from bow wood?).^[2]

If the definition is correct, then this might be a compound of 蛇 (hemi > hebi, “snake”, from the way it wraps around objects) +‎ 弓 (yumi, “bow”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

The Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (2nd edition) also gives a reading へびゆみ (hebiyumi), but without any citations.^[3]

Noun

へみゆみ • (hemiyumi)

(hapax, obsolete) (said to be) a bow made from twisted logs

References

^ “へみ‐ゆみ【─弓】”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) ‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
The concise edition does not have this entry. The only citation provided reads:

へみゆみのはるにもあらで散る花はゆきかと山にいる人にとへ
femiyumi no faru ni mo ara de TIru FANA fa yuki ka to YAMA ni iru FITO ni to fe
(please add an English translation of this usage example)
^ “ひみ‐ゆみ【肥美弓】”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) ‎^[2] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
The concise edition does not have this entry.
^ “へび‐ゆみ【─弓】”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) ‎^[3] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
The concise edition does not have this entry. It is given as a noun 〔名〕 and has the meaning "「へみゆみ（─弓）」に同じ。 (same meaning as hemiyumi)". Thus, the alternative form given is a ghost.

[KDJ2Ofemiyumi-1] “へみ‐ゆみ【─弓】”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) ‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
The concise edition does not have this entry. The only citation provided reads:

へみゆみのはるにもあらで散る花はゆきかと山にいる人にとへ
femiyumi no faru ni mo ara de TIru FANA fa yuki ka to YAMA ni iru FITO ni to fe
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

[KDJ2Opimiyumi-2] “ひみ‐ゆみ【肥美弓】”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) ‎^[2] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
The concise edition does not have this entry.

[KDJ2Ohebiyumi-3] “へび‐ゆみ【─弓】”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) ‎^[3] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
The concise edition does not have this entry. It is given as a noun 〔名〕 and has the meaning "「へみゆみ（─弓）」に同じ。 (same meaning as hemiyumi)". Thus, the alternative form given is a ghost.

[1]

[2]

[3]