Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Kabuki” come from?

Kabuki comes from Japanese 歌舞伎, a compound of 歌 (song), 舞 (dance), and 伎 (skill), ultimately deriving from 傾く meaning to lean or incline.

Kabuki (English): Alternative spelling of kabuki

Definitions

  1. Alternative spelling of kabuki

Ancestry of “Kabuki”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese歌舞伎a bizarrely-dressed person; "kabuki": traditional...
2Japanese傾くto tilt, lean, incline; to favor; to wane
3Japanese頭head; the fontanelle part of the skull; the head...
4Japaneseど-super-
Every word from Japanese ど- →