광대

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the History of Goryeo (고려사/高麗史), 1451, as Middle Korean 廣大 (Yale: kwangtay). The History is written based on earlier sources and the word is cited in relation to an early 14th-century figure, so the word was probably used at that time.

國語假面爲戱者謂之廣大 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

국어^(에) 가면위희자^(를) 위지광대^(라) [Sino-Korean]

In the language of the country, those who wear masks and perform in plays are called kwangtay.

The hanja form 廣大, sometimes still used, is unetymological.

In the Hangul script, first attested in the Hunmong jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527, as Middle Korean 과ᇰ〯대〮 (Yale: kwǎngtáy).

The original sense, attested in Hunmong jahoe and implied in History, appears to have been "mask"; already by the fourteenth century, it had transferred to "performers wearing masks".

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈkwa̠(ː)ŋdɛ] ~ [ˈkwa̠(ː)ŋde̞]
• Phonetic hangul: [광(ː)대/광(ː)데]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gwangdae
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gwangdae
McCune–Reischauer?	kwangdae
Yale Romanization?	kwāngtay

Noun

광대 • (gwangdae) (usually no hanja; sometimes 廣大)

1. clown, acrobat, entertainer, performer
2. (dated) mask in traditional plays

   Synonym: (more common) 탈 (tal)