Ainu Morpheme Explorer
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Hokkaidō

礼文島

れぶんとう Rebun

The list uses the fuller Japanese-side name Rebunshiri.

Ainu spellings: Rep-un-shiri

Analyses

Rep-un-shiri

proposed

The island

Proponent: John Batchelor

He explicitly glosses rep as sea, un as a locative particle, and shiri as land.

Batchelor1905 § V "Place Names Considered", p. 52, s.v. Rebunshiri
Analysis details
Confidence: low

The components support a maritime land description. This entry alone does not establish the history of the island’s naming.

Attestations

  • Rebunshiri dictionary 1905 An Ainu-English-Japanese Dictionary, 2nd edition
    “The island.”

    The entry gives Batchelor’s analytical spelling and interpretation.

    Batchelor1905 § V "Place Names Considered", p. 52, s.v. Rebunshiri

Sources