말똥구리

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Myobeomnyeonhwagyeong eonhae (妙法蓮華經諺解 / 묘법연화경언해), 1463, as Middle Korean ᄆᆞᆯᄯᆞᆼ구우리 (Yale: molstongkwuwuli).

Equivalent to a compound of 말똥 굴— (malttong gul-, “to roll horse feces”) +‎ -이 (-i, agentive noun-deriving suffix), literally "horse feces roller". The word preserves a reflex of the regular Middle Korean verb stem 구울다〮 (Yale: kwùwùltá) rather than the modern irregular stem.

Pronunciation

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ma̠ɭt͈o̞ŋɡuɾi]
  • Phonetic hangul: [말똥구리]
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?malttongguri
Revised Romanization (translit.)?mal'ttongguli
McCune–Reischauer?malttongguri
Yale Romanization?malttongkwuli

Noun

말똥구리 • (malttongguri)

  1. dung beetle

Synonyms

  • 쇠똥구리 (soettongguri) / 소똥구리 (sottongguri, “literally, a 'cow faeces roller'”)
  • 쇠똥벌레 (soettongbeolle)
  • 강랑 (蜣蜋, gangnang)
  • 길강 (蛣蜣, gilgang)
  • 퇴환 (推丸, toehwan)
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