めく

Japanese

Etymology

Ultimate derivation unknown. Possibly related to suffix む (-mu, “to seem like, to look like, to behave like”) and derivative める (-meru, “to make something seem like, look like, behave like”); compare also 目 (me, “eye”).

The suffix is first attested in the Tosa Nikki of 935.^[1] Use as a standalone verb appears much later in works from the early 1800s.^[1]

Etymological theories

Some etymological theories were proposed by some sources:^[1]

The Wa-kun no Shiyori and Daigenkai derive this from 見来 (mie-ku, literally “to come seen”).
The Myōgoki derives this from a shift of miekeku, miekemu, or misekemu, without any further context.
The Wa-kun no Shiyori derives this from 向く (muku, “to face”).
The Meigentsū derives this from 見る (miru, “to see”).

Suffix

めく • (-meku) godan (stem めき (-meki), past めいた (-meita))

[from 935] to show signs of, to have the appearance of, to look like, to seem like

Inflection

Conjugation of "めく" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	めか	meka
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	めき	meki
Shūshikei ("terminal")	めく	meku
Rentaikei ("attributive")	めく	meku
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	めけ	meke
Meireikei ("imperative")	めけ	meke
Key constructions
Passive	めかれる	mekareru
Causative	めかせるめかす	mekaseru mekasu
Potential	めける	mekeru
Volitional	めこう	mekō
Negative	めかない	mekanai
Negative continuative	めかず	mekazu
Formal	めきます	mekimasu
Perfective	めいた	meita
Conjunctive	めいて	meite
Hypothetical conditional	めけば	mekeba

Derived terms

粧(めか)す (mekasu)
蠢(うごめ)く (ugomeku)
呻(うめ)く (umeku)
からめく (karameku)
きらめく (kirameku)
くるめく (kurumeku)
殊更(ことさら)めく (kotosarameku)
さざめく (sazameku)
ときめく (tokimeku)
どよめく (doyomeku)
謎(なぞ)めく (nazomeku)
はためく (hatameku)
犇(ひし)めく (hishimeku)
閃(ひらめ)く (hirameku)
ふためく (futameku)
古(ふる)めく (furumeku)
めくるめく (mekurumeku)
揺(ゆ)らめく (yurameku)
よろめく (yoromeku)
わめく (wameku)

Verb

めく • (meku) intransitive godan (stem めき (meki), past めいた (meita))

[early 1800s–???] (archaic, possibly obsolete) to look like something

Inflection

Conjugation of "めく" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	めか	meka
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	めき	meki
Shūshikei ("terminal")	めく	meku
Rentaikei ("attributive")	めく	meku
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	めけ	meke
Meireikei ("imperative")	めけ	meke
Key constructions
Passive	めかれる	mekareru
Causative	めかせるめかす	mekaseru mekasu
Potential	めける	mekeru
Volitional	めこう	mekō
Negative	めかない	mekanai
Negative continuative	めかず	mekazu
Formal	めきます	mekimasu
Perfective	めいた	meita
Conjunctive	めいて	meite
Hypothetical conditional	めけば	mekeba

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “めく”, 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.)

[KDJ2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “めく”, 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.)

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