Ainu Morpheme Explorer
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Hokkaidō

安平

あびら Abira

The 1905 entry interprets the name through a cliff shape. The map uses the present-day Abira River to locate the name; the entry does not establish that this river was its historical referent.

Ainu spellings: A-pira

Analyses

A-pira

proposed

Tine cliff

Proponent: John Batchelor

Batchelor glosses pira as “cliff”; the preceding Abetsu entry explains a as a prong or tine.

Batchelor1905 § V "Place Names Considered", p. 33, s.v. Abira
Analysis details
Confidence: low

Pira has the required cliff sense. The short entry supplies no site description supporting the tine comparison.

Attestations

  • Abira dictionary 1905 An Ainu-English-Japanese Dictionary, 2nd edition
    “Tine cliff.” Pira is the usual word for “cliff.”

    The entry gives Batchelor’s analytical spelling and interpretation.

    Batchelor1905 § V "Place Names Considered", p. 33, s.v. Abira

Sources