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I've heard the phrase 参った and understood it to mean something like 'I/we lost'
or 'knocked out'. How did this come from 参る, to visit or go by? I read in a
dictionary that it's some phrase said by a the defeated person in a judo or
kendo match but I don't fully understand.
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2014-09-20T14:04:27.457
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etymology sports
How did 参った come to mean 'defeated' from 参る?
(I failed to identify the authoritative article about this, so the following
story is based largely on my speculation.)

You probably know that 参る is a humble form and means to visit someone with
_higher status than ourselves_.

And I think your dictionary also said that 参る can specifically mean "to visit
a shrine/temple/grave." (=参拝) The noun お参り always means "a visit to a
shrine/temple/grave and offering prayers." See the [result of Google Image
Search for
お参り](https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E3%81%8A%E5%8F%82%E3%82%8A&tbm=isch),
and you can understand that Japanese 参る means not only "going", but also
"showing the highest respect" for Gods, or someone else.

This, I suppose, explains why 参った also came to mean "I lost." By saying 参った,
you admits your opponent is stronger than you, and deserves your respect. (In
_judo_ and _kendo_ , showing such respect is especially important.)

There's [a blog post about this topic](http://donnat.cocolog-
nifty.com/blog/2010/05/post-1f97.html).

By the way, this お参り pose (putting hands together in front of you) is also a
gesture of surrender, or begging for one's life.
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answer
In a [judo context](https://www.judo-ch.jp/english/dictionary/terms/maitta/),
参った is used to mean "I surrender" when submitting to an opponent (usually due
to an armlock, strangle, or hold down).

According to Wikipedia this meaning is first noted in the 1500's and stems
from the older meaning of "to go [to a superior]":

>   4. to be overcome, to cede to a superior person or superior circumstances
> ( _by extension from the older "go to a superior" sense_)
>     1. [from late 1500s] ( _intransitive_ ) to lose to an opponent  
>  参{まい}ったな。 ― _**maitta** na._ ― You **got** me.
>
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answer