Old Korean edit

Verb edit

寶非 (*pwupuy- or *pwopuy-)

  1. (hapax) The meaning of this term is uncertain. This word appears only once in the poem Cheongbuljuse-ga by the tenth-century monk Gyunyeo. Possibilities include:
    1. to rub, the most common interpretation, based on the Middle Korean reflex and the context of "hands".
    2. to press together. A more recent reconstruction by Lee Geon-Sik, in a comparative study of the Cheongbuljuse-ga to its hansi (Classical Chinese poem) counterpart Cheongbuljuse-song as well as various source Buddhist texts, proposes this meaning in the context of "pressing one's palms together to pray".

Reconstruction notes edit

This word is usually thought to be spelled purely phonographically, giving the ancestor of Middle Korean 부븨〮다〮 (Yale: pwùpúy-tá). Most reconstructions give *pwupuy- based on Middle Korean, although some give a pronunciation of *pwopuy- as more faithful to the orthography.

Descendants edit

  • Middle Korean: 부븨〮다〮 (pwùpúytá), 비븨〮다〮 (pìpúy-tá)

References edit

  • 박지용 外 (Park Ji-yong et al.) (2012) 향가 해독 자료집 [hyangga haedok jaryojip, A Sourcebook of Hyangga Interpretations], Seoul National University, page 291
  • 이건식 (I Geon-sik) (2015) “均如 鄕歌 請佛住世歌의 내용 이해와 어학적 解讀 [Study on content understanding of Gyunyeo's hyangga Cheongbuljuse-ga and its linguistic interpretation]”, in Gugyeol Yeon'gu[1], volume 34, pages 137-184