蜻蛉

蜻蛉

1. dragonfly

/toɴboː/ → /toɴbo/

Shift from earlier tonbō, shortening the final vowel.[1] Now the most common reading of this term.

The kanji are jukujikun (熟字訓), from Chinese 蜻蛉 (qīnglíng).

• (Tokyo) とんぼ [tòńbó] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [tõ̞mbo̞]

蜻蛉(とんぼ) or 蜻蛉(トンボ) • (tonbo) 

1. dragonfly

   Synonym: (Tsugaru) だんぶり (danburi)

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as トンボ.

• 竹(たけ)蜻(とん)蛉(ぼ) (take tonbo): a bamboo dragonfly/bamboo-copter; a toy.
• 黄(き)蜻(とん)蛉(ぼ) (ki tonbo): a yellow darter (Sympetrum croceolum)

/toubau/ → /toːbɔː/ → /toɴbɔː/ → /toɴboː/

Shift from earlier tōbō.[4] Appears in the 康頼本草 (Yasuyori Honzō) of 995 CE.

• (Tokyo) とんぼー [tòńbóó] (Heiban – [0])[3]
• IPA^(key): [tõ̞mbo̞ː]

蜻蛉(とんぼう) or 蜻蛉(トンボー) • (tonbō) ^{←とんばう (tonbau)?}

1. dragonfly

/toubau/ → /toːbɔː/ → /toːboː/

Derivation unknown.[4] Some theories include:

• Originally a compound of 飛ぶ (tobu, “to fly; flying”) + 棒 (bō, “stick, pole”, ancient reading bau).[5] However, this combines a native Japanese etymon with a Chinese borrowing, and the term appears early in the historical record, when such compounds were not common.[6]
• Originally a compound of 飛ぶ (tobu, “to fly; flying”) + 羽 (ha, “wing”, ancient reading pa) + uncertain element う (u).[5] While more likely in terms of historical trends, this leaves the final element unexplained.[6]

This reading appears to have been superseded by tonbō and tonbo.

• IPA^(key): [to̞ːbo̞ː]

蜻蛉(とうぼう) or 蜻蛉(トウボウ) • (tōbō) ^{←とうばう (toubau)?}

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) dragonfly

From Middle Chinese 蜻蛉 (MC tsjeng leng).

• (Tokyo) せーれー [sèéréé] (Heiban – [0])[3]
• IPA^(key): [se̞ːɾe̞ː]

蜻(せい)蛉(れい) or 蜻蛉(セイレイ) • (seirei) 

1. dragonfly

Attested in the late 18th century.[4]

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

蜻蛉(えんば) or 蜻蛉(エンバ) • (enba) ^{←ゑんば (wenba)?}

1. (archaic) dragonfly