There is a topical antiseptic called _Mercurochrome_ or
[_Merbromin_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merbromin). According to [the
Korean Wikipedia
article](https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%A8%B8%ED%81%90%EB%A1%9C%ED%81%AC%EB%A1%AC),
an alternative name for this in Korean is [아]【a】[까]【kka】[징]【jin】[끼]【kki】
(possibly also romanized as _akkajinki_ ), which was borrowed from Japanese
赤【あか】チンキ.

What is the origin of this Japanese term _akachinki_?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-24T21:37:38.693
53461
2017-09-28T00:09:00.487
2017-09-27T05:49:00.370
5229
25921
question
etymology
What is the origin of the term _akachinki_, borrowed into Korean as _akkajinki_? (Meaning "Mercurochrome" or "Merbromin")
The more formal Japanese term for generic name _Merbromin_ is
メ【me】ル【ru】ブ【bu】ロ【ro】ミ【mi】ン【n】, and the term for brand name _Mercurochrome_ is
マ【ma】ー【a】キュ【kyu】ロ【ro】ク【ku】ロ【ro】ム【mu】. This topical antiseptic also goes by the
informal name [赤]【aka】チ【chi】ン【n】, or older [赤]【aka】チ【chi】ン【n】キ【ki】.

  * The [赤]【aka】 part simply expresses the sense of _red_ , as the medicine is indeed red in color:  
![A sample picture of _Merbromin_, showing the red color of the
drug.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Merbromin-
Anti-Infective.jpg/173px-Merbromin-Anti-Infective.jpg)

  * The チ【chi】ン【n】 part is from older チ【chi】ン【n】キ【ki】, which in turn is an abbreviation of チ【chi】ン【n】キ【ki】テュ【tyu】ー【u】ル【ru】, a borrowing from Dutch _tinktuur_ , cognate with English _tincture_ (i.e., a solution of a medicinal substance in a liquid, usually alcohol).

The [Japanese Wikipedia
article](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A5%E3%83%AD%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%A0%E6%B6%B2)
suggests that the term arose from a slang use of チ【chi】ン【n】キ【ki】 to refer more
specifically to ヨ【yo】ー【o】ド【do】チ【chi】ン【n】キ【ki】, or a tincture of iodine. Since
iodine tinctures are more yellowy-brown in color, the [赤]【aka】 was added as a
prefix to differentiate.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-28T00:09:00.487
53514
2017-09-28T00:09:00.487
5229
53461
answer