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🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)

まーすん

maasun

Pronunciation: [maːsuŋ̍]

Definition

Verb

  1. To die; to perish; to pass away

Etymology

Cognate with Amami (Naze) もりすん morisun; Amami (Imazato) mooris(ï)-; Amami (Yuwan) もーしゅい mooshui; Tokunoshima もーいせぃ mooisï; Okinoerabu もいしゅん moishun; Okinawan (Shuri) まーすん maasun; Miyako まーすズ maasɿ ~ maasz; Tarama-Minna まーらすん maarasun; Yaeyama (Funauki) maaras-; Yaeyama (Shiraho) maroor-; Yaeyama (Kuroshima) mairas-; Yaeyama (Hatoma) まーらすん maarasun; Yonaguni まいるん mairun and まいすん maisun "to pass away, to die". Likely cognate to standard Japanese まわる【回る】 mawaru "to turn" and まわす【回す】 mawasu "to [go] around, to turn, to rotate".

In Shuri Okinawan, the compound けーまーすん keemaasun "to pass away, to die" is also recorded.

Reconstructions:

  • Zachary Read (2023) tentatively reconstructs *mawari 'turn' + *s- 'to do', but notes that some varieties may reflect *mawas- instead.
  • The Hatoma dialect database (鳩間方言音声語彙DB) suggests, for Hatoma, a connection to Old Japanese まかり【罷り】 makari, which was used as a euphemism for dying, and proposes the sound change *makari → * mahari → *maari and the addition of the verb すん sun "to do".

Discussion:

  • The vowel difference in Northern Ryukyuan suggests *Cawa-. The connection to Japanese まわる【回る】 mawaru "to turn" and まわす【回す】 mawasu  is based on Yuwan Amami and Miyako, where the verb "to turn" is phonologically the same.
  • The reconstruction of *mawari 'to turn' + *s- 'to do' is enticing based on the number of varietal forms with -r-. However, further research is needed to determine (1) why certain varieties like Okinawan don't result in *maaisun, (2) whether the different forms represent different reflexes of both *mawar- and *mawas-, and (3) what the transitive and intransitive forms of 'to turn' in each variety look like.
  • In The Honorific Forms of the Imazato Dialect in Amami, Northern Ryukyuan (2017), Hiromi Shigeno notes that the Imazato equivalent moori "to pass away" is never used on its own, but requires the auxiliary verb s(ï)- "to do".

Spelling

OrthographyForm
Kanaまーすん
Romanizationmaasun
Pronunciation (IPA)[maːsuŋ̍]

Verb Paradigm

Central Okinawan su-type verb: maasun

 

 

maasun

maachan

maasan

maasantan

maasuru

maacharu

maachoon

maachootan

maacheewuran

maacheewurantan

maachooru

maachootaru

Causative

maasasun

maasachan

maasasan

maasasantan

maasasuru

maasacharu

Passive and Potential

maasariyun,
maasariin

maasaritan,
maasattan

maasariran,
maasaran

maasarirantan,
maasaratan

maasariyuru,
maasariiru

maasaritaru,
maasattaru

Causative-Passive

maasasariyun,
maasasariin

maasasaritan

maasasariran

maasasarirantan

maasasariyuru,
maasasariiru

maasasariraru

Intransitivizing resultative (For transitive verbs only)

maacheen

maacheetan

maacheeneen

maacheeneentan

maacheeru

maacheetaru

maachoochun

maachoochan

maacheeukan

maacheeukantan

maachoochuru

maachoocharu

Base forms

Form

Construction

maas-

maasun

maasuru

maasu-

maashi

maasa

maachi

maachai

maashi,
maashee

maashee

Common attributive (adnominal) constructions

Form

Construction

maasuru haji

maasuru gutu

maasuru mee

maasuru qweeda, maasuru-qweema

maasuru tami ni

Common conjunctive constructions

Form

Construction

maachi-kwimisooree

maachi-kwiin

maachi-neen

maachi-n

maachi-kara

maachi-atu

Common adverbial constructions (adjectival compounds)

Form

 

maashi-busan

maashi-busantan

maashi-bushikoo neen,

maashi-bushikoo neeran

maashi-bushikoo neentan,

maashi-bushikoo neerantan

maashi-busaru

maashi-busataru

Easy to...

maashi-yassan

maashi-yassantan

maashi-yashikoo neen,

maashi-yashikoo neeran

maashi-yashikoo neentan,

maashi-yashikoo neerantan

maashi-yassaru

maashi-yassataru

Hard to...

maashi-gurisan

maashi-gurisantan

maashi-gurikoo neen,

maashi-gurikoo neeran

maashi-gurikoo neentan,

maashi-gurikoo neerantan

maashi-gurisaru

maashi-gurisataru

Common adverbial constructions (verbal compounds)

Form

 

maashi-misheen

maashi-misheentan

maashi-misooran

maashi-misoorantan

maashi-misheeru

maashi-misheetaru,
maashi-misoocharu

Common adverbial constructions (nominal compounds)

Form

Construction

maashi-gachii

Common apocopated constructions

Form

Construction

maasu-tan

maasu-shi

maasu-shiga

maasu-kutu

maasu-na

maasu-raa

maasu-ga

Other constructions

Form

 

maasabiyun,
maasabiin

maasabitan

maasabiran

maasabirantan

maasabiyuru,
maasabiiru

maasabitaru

maashumi

maachii

maasani

maasantii

Verb paradigms are based off several sources including, but not limited to:

  • Funatsu, Yoshiaki. (1988). 美しい沖縄の方言①. [Utsukushii Okinawa no kotoba 1]. ISBN4-905784-19-0.
  • Sakihara, Mitsugu. (2006). Okinawan-English Wordbook. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. ISBN: 0824831020.
  • Shizato, Rumiko and Iwasaki, Shoichi. (2024). Basic Okinawan: From Conversation to Grammar. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. ISBN: 9780824893651.

意味:しぬ【死ぬ】、なくなる【亡くなる】

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まーすん
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2024, September 7). まーすん : maasun | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, February 23, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/287/maasun/.