63296
I noticed the rare reading of メン contained in the word 雌鳥{めんどり} and I wondered
how this unusual reading could have come about. I am not aware of any other
words which use this reading for 雌. Is it simply that めんどり is easier to say
than めすとり or めすどり ? If that is the case, shouldn't 雌トラ be めんどら? Or is there a
different reason such as the reading being a relic from an archaic
pronunciation?
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2018-12-07T16:23:56.430
63289
2018-12-07T18:09:22.963
25875
question
readings
Why is 雌 also read as メン?
According to [デジタル大辞泉](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%9B%8C%E9%B3%A5-644145)...

> めん‐どり【▽雌鳥】  
>  《「めどり」の音変化》...

> おん‐どり〔をん‐〕【▽雄鳥】  
>  《「おとり」の音変化》...

And 大辞林 says...

> めんどり【雌鳥】  
>  〔「めどり」の撥音添加〕

> おんどり【雄鳥】  
>  〔「おとり」の転〕

So it seems...

めどり → （撥音添加） → めんどり  
おとり → （撥音添加 + 連濁） → おんどり

Some examples of 撥音添加 include...

みな（皆） → みんな  
なにも（何も） → なんにも  
おなじ（同じ） → おんなじ  
こぶ（昆布） → こんぶ  
とび（鳶） → とんび

(But you don't call female tiger as めんどら...)

* * *

**UPDATE:**

As pointed out by @Eiríkr in the comments below, it might be more reasonable
to think of it as...

め(す)のとり → contraction(の→ん)+連濁(と→ど) → めんどり

... Now I'm not totally sure... Let's wait for others to post better answers!
^^
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2018-12-07T17:37:25.153
63296
2018-12-07T18:09:22.963
2018-12-07T18:09:22.963
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answer