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Etymology is the history of the origin of words and phrases.

1 vote

What's the meaning of 패(牌) in the word 깡패 (gangster)?

Consider the following site : link I will summarize it i) 굳셀(=strong)강 무리(=group)패 : That is, 강패 is changed into 깡패. Further, there is an another origin : Gang in the word gangster is pronounced a …
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0 votes

Why don't Koreans call their country 'Korea'?

고조선 ->... ->고려 (Korea) -> 조선 (Joseon) -> 북한, 남한(=한국=대한민국) Korea is from 고려 so that for 남한, republic of Korea, Korea, and south Korea are possible. And for 북한, Joseon and north Korea are possible.
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1 vote

Why is the Korean name 이 often Romanised as 'Lee'?

1) Note that there are Ye, Yi, Lee, Rhee etc for family name 이. But 98 percent use Lee (cf. user17915's answer) China : 리, Korean-writing : 리 and English : Lee is changed into China : 리 and Korean-w …
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2 votes

Why is "outside" used for the maternal side?

1) Have you ever been to 외가 (=외갓댁=house of father of mother) ? 외가에 가 봤었니 ? @외 = outside, 가 = house 2) 외가 has contrary word 친가. So father of father is 친 할아버지 or 할아버지. Older brother of father of fa …
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1 vote

How come 네 and 아니다 are different "parts of speech?"

1) 아니요, 네 are exclamations in opposite position 2) 아니다 is adjective. 철수는 학생이다. Chulsoo is a student. 철수는 학생이 아니다. chulsoo is not a student. @ 이다 has a variation like a 아니다 : 학생이지만 공부를 안한다. He i …
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2 votes

What is the background of the expression "쩐다!"?

1) 절이다 : preserve fish in salt 생선을 소금에 절이다. Clothes with a lot of sweat has a terrible smell. 땀에 절은 옷은 냄새가 안좋다. 2) 찌들다 : be worn with domestic cares. 살림에 찌들다 3) a regional dialect : Why do you have …
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2 votes

Does the prefix '단' generally mean something like 'awaited' or 'desired'?

단 = 달다 = taste of sugar 1) 단비 : 가뭄에 내리는 비는 적절하다. 참 달게 느껴진다. During drought, rain is suitable. The rain is felt to us like a sugar. 2) 단꿈 : 난 백만 장자에 대한 단꿈을 꾼다. I imagine millionaire but it is j …
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1 vote

Are 손가락 and 발가락 related to 숟가락 and 젓가락?

(1) 손 - hand, 손가락 - finger 가락 - stick. ( off topic : Here my curiosity is about chop stick. chop stick does not contain any meaning for meal ) From three word and their relations, 손가락 is plausible. …
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0 votes

What's the etymology of 점심 (點心) meaning 'lunch'?

점심 (點心 =putting a point in heart) 1.하루 중에 해가 가장 높이 떠 있는, 정오부터 반나절쯤까지의 동안. from 12 to 1 pm. 끼니로 먹는 음식. 또는 끼니를 먹는 일. food or eating food. 추가 설명 additional explanation : 동양 사상에는 아침은 제대로 먹고 …
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