しし

See also: しじ and じじ

Japanese

Etymology 1

For pronunciation and definitions of しし – see the following entries.

【獅子】

[noun] synonym of ライオン (raion, “lion”) (big cat Panthera leo)

[noun] (by extension from the notion of lions being "kings") the Buddha, a Buddha

[noun] short for 獅子舞 (shishimai), a traditional Chinese lion dance

[noun] short for 獅子頭 (shishigashira), the lion mask traditionally worn for the lion dance

[noun] short for 除夜の獅子 (joya no shishi, “New Year's lion”), a person dressed in costume as for a lion dance who goes door to door begging on New Year's Eve

[noun] a guardian statue commonly found outside temples and shrines, often with a komainu statue, the tradition for which is said to have come over from the Korean peninsula

[proper noun] the name of the lion dance 囃子 (hayashi, “musical accompaniment”) in various noh and kabuki plays

[proper noun] the first piece of music played in a 伎楽 (gigaku) performance (more commonly spelled 師子)

Alternative spellings
師子, シシ

【四肢】	[noun] one's four limbs; hands and feet; extremities

【志士】	[noun] a person of principles, patriot

【嗣子】	[noun] heir

【死屍】	[noun] a dead body, corpse

【梔子】	[noun] (traditional Chinese medicine) synonym of 山梔子 (sanshishi, “dried fruit of the Cape jasmine used in medicine”)

(This term, しし (shishi), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as しし, see Category:Japanese kanji read as しし.)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of しし – see the following entry.

【肉】2

[noun] [from 712–1682] (archaic, possibly obsolete or dialect, Aomori, Fukushima, Nara, Kagoshima) meat (of boars, pigs, deer, etc.)

[noun] [from 712–1682] (archaic, possibly obsolete) human flesh

[noun] (dialect, Iwate, Niigata, Shizuoka, Toyama) muscle

[noun] (dialect, Toyama) excess fat, flab

[noun] (dialect, Kochi) the human body

Alternative spelling
宍

(This term, しし (shishi), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as しし, see Category:Japanese kanji read as しし.)

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of しし – see the following entry.

【獣】S	[noun] (archaic) a beast (used for its meat, such as a boar or a deer) [noun] (slang) a female attendant at a bathhouse or hot spring [noun] (slang, archaic) a female prostitute at a bathhouse or hot spring Alternative spellings 鹿, 猪

(This term, しし (shishi), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as しし, see Category:Japanese kanji read as しし.)

Etymology 4

Proper noun

しし • (Shishi)

獅子: the name of the lion dance 囃子 (hayashi, “musical accompaniment”) in various noh and kabuki plays; the first piece of music played in a 伎楽 (gigaku) performance (more commonly spelled 師子)