くろ

See also: ぐろ

Japanese

Etymology 1

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

【黒】2

[noun] black (color)

[noun] (go) a black stone; the person who plays black stones

[noun] a 女房詞 (nyōbō kotoba, “woman's word”) for 鍋 (nabe, “pot, pan”) or 釜 (kama, “pot, kettle”)

[noun] (accounting) short for 黒字 (kuroji): black as an accounting term, indicating a profit

[noun] (euphemistic) short for 黒幕 (kuromaku): a black curtain (someone influencing or controlling matters from behind the scenes)

[noun] guilt; the guilty one, the guilty party

[noun] (slang) anarchy as a belief system or philosophy

[noun] (slang) an anarchist

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

Etymology 2

Alternative spellings
畔畦壠 (uncommon)

First attested in a text from 810, but only where 畦 is glossed as クロ. The first actual phonetic attestation is in the Wamyō Ruijushō (934), as man'yōgana 久路.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) くろ [kùróꜜ] (Odaka – [2])^[1]
(Tokyo) くろ [kúꜜrò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]
IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ɾo̞]

(Kyoto) くろ [kúꜜrò] (Kōki)^[1]

(Kyoto) くろ [kùró] (Teiki – [0])^[2]

(Kagoshima) くろ [kùróꜜ] (type B)^[2]

Historical evolution of the Kyoto pitch accent

(the Heian period) LH

※ H for high and flat syllables (◌́), L for low and flat syllables (◌̀), F for high-to-low syllables (◌̂), R for low-to-high syllables (◌̌).
※ References: ^[1]

Noun

くろ • (kuro)

[from 810 or 934] (dated or dialect) a ridge between rice paddies
[from 1241] a slightly raised place

Etymology 3

Attested in the Butsurui Shōko (1775).

Unknown. Possibly a dialectal form of 蟋蟀(コオロギ) (kōrogi, “cricket”), but no sources support this.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ɾo̞]

Noun

くろ • (kuro)

[from 1775] (hapax legomenon, obsolete) a cricket

Etymology 4

Unknown. Possibly contractions of different words.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ɾo̞]

Noun

くろ • (kuro)

[from 1931] (slang, criminal) a glove
[from 1915] (slang, criminal) a copper coin
[from 1935] (slang, criminal) a mole (skin)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “くろ【畔・畦・壠】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 (Zenkoku Akusento Jiten, “Nationwide Accent Dictionary”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō, →ISBN

[KDJ2Oridge-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “くろ【畔・畦・壠】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

[ZAJ-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 (Zenkoku Akusento Jiten, “Nationwide Accent Dictionary”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]