Chinese

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big; great; huge
big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor
 
deer
trad. (大鹿) 鹿
simp. #(大鹿) 鹿

Pronunciation

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Noun

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大鹿

  1. any kind of large deer
  2. moose; elk

Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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大鹿 (ōjika): a moose.
 
Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
Kanji in this term
鹿
おお
Grade: 1
しか > じか
Grade: 4
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling

From Old Japanese. Analyzable as a compound of (ō, big) +‎ 鹿 (shika, deer).[1][2] The shika changes to jika as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720, with the literal sense of large deer.[1]

The moose or elk (Alces alces) is not native to Japan, and that sense is not attested until much later, in 1884.[1]

And, similar to the confusion in usage of English elk as to whether this refers to Alces alces or Cervus canadensis (also known as the wapiti), the Japanese term too might refer to either.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(おお)鹿(じか) or 大鹿(オオジカ) (ōjikaおほじか (ofozika)?

  1. [from 720] a large deer
  2. [from 1884] a moose, an elk: Alces alces
    Synonyms: (more common term) 箆鹿 (herajika), ムース (mūsu), エルク (eruku)
  3. [after 1884] a wapiti, an elk: Cervus canadensis
    Synonyms: アメリカ赤鹿 (Amerika akashika), ワピチ (wapichi), エルク (eruku)
Usage notes
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As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as オオジカ. Not to be confused with 牡鹿 (ojika, male deer: stag, buck).

Proper noun

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(おお)鹿(じか) (Ōjikaおほじか (Ofozika)?

  1. a district in Itami, Hyōgo Prefecture

Etymology 2

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Kanji in this term
鹿
おお
Grade: 1
しか
Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Compound of (ō, big) +‎ 鹿 (shika, deer). Appears to be a variation from the ōjika reading.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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(おお)鹿(しか) (Ōshikaおほしか (Ofosika)?

  1. A village in Nagano Prefecture
  2. a surname
  3. [from 1884] (uncommon) a moose, an elk: Alces alces
    Synonyms: (more common term) 箆鹿 (herajika), ムース (mūsu), エルク (eruku)

Etymology 3

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Kanji in this term
鹿
だい
Grade: 1
ろく
Grade: 4
goon on'yomi

Probably coined in Japan from Middle Chinese-derived components, as a compound of (dai, great) +‎ 鹿 (roku, stag, male deer).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(だい)鹿(ろく) (dairoku

  1. (shogi) the great stag, a piece in 大局将棋 (taikyoku shogi, a huge chess variant, played on a 36×36 grid)
See also
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  • 山鹿 (sanroku, mountain stag), the starting piece, which promotes to the dairoku
  • 奔鹿 (honroku, free stag), to which the dairoku promotes

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN