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What is the etymology of the term 仏様 ? I am interested because of all the
meanings this word can possess.
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2012-01-20T01:54:13.963
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2012-03-15T05:32:17.807
2012-03-15T05:32:17.807
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question
etymology
What is the etymology of the term [仏]{ほとけ}[様]{さま}?
It comes from two words: 仏{ほとけ} (hotoke, Buddha) and 様{さま} (an honorific
suffix). さま is of course applied to many names towards which a large degree of
deference is to be shown (gods, royalty, etc.).

But perhaps you're wondering about the origin of 仏{ほとけ}? That's a bit more
complicated. According to the [大辞泉
dictionary](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E4%BB%8F&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=1&index=17048900&pagenum=1),
the word ほとけ originally came from a phonetic shift of the word ぶつ (a word for
"Buddha" in Japanese) into the word ほと.

After this shift, the ending ～け was then applied, which means (loosely
translated) "looks like" or "seems like," to mean "an image of Buddha." You
can also see this ～け in words like ありげ and よさげ.

From this original meaning of "an image of Buddha," the meaning then shifted a
bit through history to mean "Buddha," as well as "a spirit of the deceased."

I wouldn't say that 仏{ほとけ} really has many other meanings besides those above,
although it's extremely versatile in idiomatic expressions, which can give it
many uses.
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2012-01-20T02:54:49.717
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2012-01-20T02:54:49.717
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answer