Etymology of AV Idol (AV女優)
In Japan, porn star is called “AV Idol” (AV 女優)
AV stands for Adult Video.
- The char 女 (pinyin: nǚ; IPA: /ny/) means female, girl, women.
- The char 優 (pinyin: yōu; IPA: /iɤʊ/) in Chinese means good, excellent, superior. It also means entertainer in old Chinese, as in, someone with graceful movement, as in, idol. The “actor” meaning is defunct. Japanese writing system is borrowed from Chinese, so in Japanese, it still retain that meaning.
Note that English alphabet is part of Japanese writing system.
優 yōu = simplified 优.
- 美好的,出众的:优良。优等。
- 古代指演剧的人:优伶。俳优(滑稽杂耍艺人)。
- 充足,富裕:优裕(富裕,充足)。优厚。优惠。优遇。养尊处优(处于尊贵的地位,过着优裕的生活,用于贬义)。
說文解字:
饒也。从人憂聲。一曰倡也。於求切
『說文解字注』: (優) 饒也。食部饒下曰。飽也。引伸之凡有餘皆曰饒。詩瞻卬傳曰。優、渥也。箋云。寛也。周語注曰。優、饒也。魯語注曰。優、裕也。其義一也。引伸之爲優游、爲優柔、爲俳優。商頌。布政憂憂。小雅。旣瀀旣渥。今本皆假優爲之。从人。憂聲。於求切。三部。一曰倡也。倡者、樂也。謂作妓者。卽所謂俳優也。左傳。陳氏、鮑氏之圉人爲優。晉語。公之優曰施。