Ainu

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Etymology

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Likely related to Proto-Japonic *kamuy (god). The exact relationship between the two terms is unclear.

John Batchelor analyses kamuy as being made up of the root ka ("above"), which is then kamu ("to cover") and finally, through the addition of nominalising particle y, kamuy ("he who covers or overshadows"). In this case, Proto-Japonic *kamuy or Old Japanese (kami2, kamu-) would be, in fact, a borrowing from Ainu.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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カムィ (Latin spelling kamuy)

  1. a god (deity)
    アペ カムイ
    ape kamuy
    the fire god
  2. (by extension from the god sense) a bear (large mammal of family Ursidae)
    Synonym: チラマㇺテㇷ゚ (ciramamtep)

Adjective

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カムィ (Latin spelling kamuy)

  1. an honorific-like title applied to anything great, important, or terrible, not necessarily implying divinity
    カムイ ノンノ
    kamuy nonno
    a beautiful flower
    カムイ ニㇱパ
    kamuy nispa
    a great lord

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Japanese: カムイ (kamui)

References

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John Batchelor (1905) An Ainu-English-Japanese dictionary (including a grammar of the Ainu language)[1], Tokyo, London: Methodist Publishing House; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner Co., page 205