Ainu Morpheme Explorer
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Hokkaidō

朝里

あさり Asari

Two consecutive Asari entries appear on p. 35. The second does not specify a different locality.

Ainu spellings: Asari-pet, Asar-i

Analyses

Asari-pet

proposed

The open river

Proponent: John Batchelor

He derives asari from sara “open up”, a passive/intransitive prefix a, and a locative i, with loss of the last a in asara.

Batchelor1905 § V "Place Names Considered", p. 35, s.v. Asari (two entries)
Analysis details
Confidence: low

The derivation depends on Batchelor’s account of prefixation and vowel loss; the entry supplies no independently attested earlier forms.

Asar-i

proposed

The open place, open to the skies

  • Asar open (Batchelor)
  • i place (Batchelor)

Proponent: John Batchelor

The immediately following row repeats the Japanese headword Asari with this form and gloss.

Batchelor1905 § V "Place Names Considered", p. 35, s.v. Asari (two entries)
Analysis details
Confidence: low

The row gives no location or explanation of its relationship to the river reading. Its association with the same modern Asari remains provisional.

Attestations

  • Asari (two entries) dictionary 1905 An Ainu-English-Japanese Dictionary, 2nd edition
    “The open river.” … “The open place” i.e. open to the skies.

    The entry gives Batchelor’s analytical spelling and interpretation.

    Batchelor1905 § V "Place Names Considered", p. 35, s.v. Asari (two entries)

Sources