73291
I was reading a manga and a character said:

> 今宵はここまでだ  
>  下がって良いぞ

After they noticed that the person they were talking to didn't move, they
said:

> おい  
>  余は退がれと  
>  言ったのだ

That's why I'm guessing 退がる reads and means the same as 下{さ}がる, but I don't
understand how it came to be. It's hard to find something about it on the
internet.

退{しさ}る comes up. It seems to have the same meaning as 下{さ}がる in this context,
as well as the more modern word 退{しりぞ}く.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-29T19:20:36.137
73283
2019-11-30T01:00:58.910
29268
question
meaning words etymology
Meaning and origin of 「退がる」
### Reading / Spelling

As you noticed, 退がる is not a normal collocation of kanji and okurigana.

Referring to my copy of Shogakukan's _Kokugo Dai Jiten_ (online version
[here](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%80%80-556241#E7.B2.BE.E9.81.B8.E7.89.88.20.E6.97.A5.E6.9C.AC.E5.9B.BD.E8.AA.9E.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E5.85.B8)),
退 has the following recognized _kun'yomi_ :

  * 退る【しさる】
  * 退く【しぞく】
  * 退く【しりぞく】
  * 退ける【しりぞける】
  * 退る【すさる】
  * 退く【そく】
  * 退く【どく】
  * 退かす【どかす】
  * 退ける【どける】
  * 退く【のく】
  * 退かす【のかす】
  * 退ける【のける】
  * 退く【ひく】
  * 退ける【ひける】

Despite the impressive number of potential readings, none of them end in ～がる,
nor even ～ぐ.

### Origins

As you guessed from the context, this appears to be author's license in
choosing a non-standard spelling for the verb 下【さ】がる ("to draw back, to
leave"). A common synonym for this is indeed 退【しりぞ】く. This kind of cross-use,
where the author uses a reading from one word and the spelling from another,
is very common in manga. Usually, you'll get furigana to help with the
reading, but sometimes those will be omitted.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-30T01:00:58.910
73291
2019-11-30T01:00:58.910
5229
73283
answer