前掛け

Japanese

Kanji in this term
前	掛
まえ Grade: 2	か Grade: S
kun’yomi

地蔵の前掛け: a statue of Kṣitigarbha (Jizō) with a red apron

裳の前掛け: 19th century mo (skirt) at Tokyo National Museum

Etymology

Compound of 前(まえ) (mae, “front”) + 掛(か)け (kake, “suspended from”, 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 掛(か)ける (kakeru, “to suspend; to wear”)). Attested from at least the 17th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma̠e̞ka̠ke̞]

Noun

前(まえ)掛(か)け • (maekake) ^{←まへかけ (mafekake)?}

1. apron (an article of clothing worn over the front of the torso and/or legs, often for protection from spills)

   Synonyms: エプロン (epuron), 前垂れ (maedare)

   お地(じ)蔵(ぞう)様(さま)の赤(あか)い前(まえ)掛(か)け ― o-Jizō-sama no akai maekake ― a red apron for Jizō

2. bib (clothing tied around a baby's neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating)

   Synonym: よだれかけ (yodarekake)

   子(こ)供(ども)用(よう)の前(まえ)掛(か)け ― kodomo yō no maekake ― a bib for children; a child's dicky

3. (historical) long strips of fabric attached to the front of a mo, a type of skirt formerly worn by women or girls

Usage notes

The word 前掛け may be used broadly for an apron or smock. Some synonyms may have more specific reference, depending on region. A covering for both front and back of the upper body is often called a 割(かっ)烹(ぽう)着(ぎ) (kappōgi, literally “cook's clothing”). Until the middle Edo period, the word 前(まえ)垂(だ)れ (maedare) and various regional variants were commonly used in reference to various types of covering suspended from the neck. During much of the Edo period 前掛け referred to protective linen or cotton smocks worn by merchants, and later to decorative silk aprons worn by shop girls. The word エプロン (epuron), from English apron, appeared during the late 19th century.

See also

• 前掛け on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Apron on Wikipedia.Wikipedia