# すみ
## Japanese
### Etymology 1

* Alternative spelling
* 炭
From Old Japanese, first appearing in 762 CE. Cognate with 墨 (sumi, “ink; India ink”).
In turn, from Proto-Japonic *sumi. Cognate with Miyako 炭 (sïm), Okinawan 炭 (shimi), Yaeyama 炭 (sïn).
Possibly derived from the homophonous 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) 済み (sumi) of verb 済む (sumu, “to finish, to conclude”), from the way that cinders are left after a fire has finished burning.
Possibly also related to 煤 (susu, “soot”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) すみ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
* IPA: [sɨmʲi]

#### Noun

すみ • (sumi)
* [from 762] charcoal
    Synonyms: (literally “wood charcoal”) 木炭 (mokutan), (rare reading) 木炭 (kizumi), (very rare as standalone noun; see below) 炭 (tan)
* [from early 900s] a coal or cinder from a fire
    Synonym: (literally “extinguished coal/cinder”) 消し炭 (keshizumi)
* [date uncertain] (rare) coal (fossil fuel)
    Synonyms: (literally “stone charcoal”) 石炭 (sekitan), (rare reading) 石炭 (ishizumi), (very rare as standalone noun; see below) 炭 (tan)

### Etymology 2

* Alternative spelling
* 墨
From Old Japanese, first appearing in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE with the phonetic spelling 須彌 ⟨sumi$_1$⟩. Cognate with 炭 (sumi, “charcoal”).
In turn, from Proto-Japonic *sumi. Cognate with Southern Amami Ōshima 墨 (sïmi).
Possibly derived from the homophonous 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) 済み (sumi) of verb 済む (sumu, “to finish, to conclude”), from the way that cinders are left after a fire has finished burning.
Possibly also related to 煤 (susu, “soot”), from which India ink is made.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) すみ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
* IPA: [sɨmʲi]

#### Noun

すみ • (sumi)
* ink
* (specifically) India ink

### Etymology 3

* Alternative spelling
* 済み
From the verb 済む (sumu, “to settle, to conclude, to finish”, first attested with this sense in the early 1300s), in turn from 澄む・清む (sumu, “to settle, to become clear”), from Old Japanese.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) すみ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
* IPA: [sɨmʲi]

#### Noun

すみ • (sumi)
* [date uncertain] finish, completion, conclusion

##### Derived terms

* 済(ず)み (-zumi)

#### Verb

すみ • (sumi)
* stem or continuative form of すむ (sumu) [godan]

### Etymology 4

* Alternative spellings
* 隅 角
From Old Japanese, first appearing in the Kojiki of 712 with the phonetic spelling 須美 ⟨sumi$_1$⟩.
Considering the different pitch accent, this appears to be unrelated to the "charcoal; ink; finish" senses.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) すみ [súꜜmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
* IPA: [sɨmʲi]

#### Noun

すみ • (sumi)
* interior corner (e.g., of a room or board surface), nook

##### See also

* 隅々(すみずみ) (sumizumi, “all over, everywhere”, literally “corner-corner”) (compare the English expression "from corner to corner")
* 隅(すみ)から隅(すみ)まで (sumi kara sumi made, “from corner to corner”, adverb)
* 角(かど) (kado, “exterior corner”)
* コーナー (kōnā)

#### Proper noun

すみ • (Sumi)
* a surname

### Etymology 5

* Alternative spelling
* 酸味
From 酸 (su, the stem of adjective 酸い (sui, “sour”)) +‎ み (-mi, “-ness”, specifically for subjective impressions). The use of the 味 kanji is an example of ateji (当て字), in this case, phonosemantic matching with a possible conflation of senses.
First cited to a text from 1833.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) すみ [súꜜmì] (Atamadaka – [1])
* (Tokyo) すみ [sùmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
* IPA: [sɨmʲi]

#### Noun

すみ • (sumi)
* [from 1833] sourness, sour taste, sour flavor

### Etymology 6

For pronunciation and definitions of すみ – see the following entry. :
| 【数見】 | [proper noun] a surname |
(This term, すみ (sumi), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as すみ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as すみ.) :

### References

* ↑ “炭”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* 1 2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ “墨”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ “隅・角”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* 1 2 “酸味”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ “み”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

## Okinawan
### Noun

すみ (sumi)
* 趣味: hobby; taste, preference