荸薺
See also: 荸荠
Chinese
| trad. (荸薺) | 荸 | 薺 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. (荸荠) | 荸 | 荠 | |
| alternative forms | 葧薺／葧荠 | ||
Etymology
From 鳧茈 (MC bju dzje). According to the Compendium of Materia Medica:
- 鳧喜食之，故《爾雅》名鳧茈，後遂訛為鳧茨，又訛為荸薺。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- Fú xǐ shí zhī, gù “Ěryǎ” míng fúcí, hòu suì é wéi fúcí, yòu é wéi bíqi. [Pinyin]
- Mallards like to eat it, so Erya names it fúcí [lit. “mallard gromwell”], which later corrupted to fúcí and further corrupted into bíqi.
凫喜食之，故《尔雅》名凫茈，后遂讹为凫茨，又讹为荸荠。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Alternatively, it may be derived from 脖臍 (MC bwot dzej, “navel”), perhaps because its corm resembles a navel or because its stolon resembles an umbilical cord (Wei, 2004).
Pronunciation
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 荸薺 (“Chinese water chestnut”) [map]
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