From Sanskrit मार (māra, “killing; death; destroyer; demon”).
魔羅
- (Buddhism) mara (demon)
From Middle Chinese 魔羅 (muɑ lɑ), in turn a transcription of Sanskrit मार (Māra, “the Destroyer, the Evil One”).[1][2][3][4][5] The kanji are phonetic ateji (当て字) applied when transcribing the Sanskrit into Middle Chinese.
The shift from "Buddhist evil demon" to "penis" was originally slang use among monks,[1][2][3][4] in reference to sexual desires distracting one from the path to enlightenment.
Some sources link this term to 放る (maru, “to excrete”).[1][2] However, the verb maru refers to "excreting" bodily wastes in general, not just urination but also defecation, and some sources also list flatulation as an included sense.[4] In addition, other nouns attested from Old Japanese that derive from verbs and end in -a appear to be the result of the action of the verb, which does not fit this case. Ultimately, the proposed connection between Sanskrit-derived mara ("penis") and Japonic-derived maru ("to excrete") appears to be a folk etymology, likely arising from the superficial similarity in forms.
First attested in the Nihon Ryōiki, in a section dated to the early 800s.[1]
魔羅 • (mara)
- [from early 800s] (Buddhism) Mara: a Buddhist demon that personifies the "death" of spiritual life
- [from early 800s] (anatomy) penis
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:陰茎
938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō, volume 2, page 45:玉茎 房内經云 玉茎 男陰名也 [...] 一云 麻良 [...]- Penis: The Classic of the Bedchamber calls it 'jade stalk', it is a name for the male sex organ [...] One name [is] mara
1603–1604, Nippo Jisho, page 386:Mara. l, nancon. マラ. または, ナンコン (𨳯. または, 男根) 陰茎. 卑語.- Mara. Also, nancon[sic]. A penis. Vulgar language.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 “魔羅・摩羅”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “魔羅”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen][2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ “マラ”, in 日本の危機言語[3] (in Japanese), National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, 2022
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (mara)
- (anatomy) penis
- 岩倉市郎 (1941) 喜界島方言集 [Kikai-jima Dialect Collection][4] (in Japanese), 中央公論社, page 279
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (marā)
- (anatomy) penis
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (mara)
- (anatomy) penis
Northern Amami Ōshima
[edit]
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (mara)
- (anatomy) penis
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (mara)
- (anatomy) penis
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (mara)
- (anatomy) penis
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (mara)
- (anatomy) penis
Cognate with Japanese 魔羅 (mara).
魔羅 (mara)
- (anatomy) penis