netsuke means A small, often collectible, artistic carving characterized by an opening or two small holes (紐通し (himotōshi)), most commonly made of wood or ivory, used as a fob at the end of a cord attached to a suspended pouch containing pens, medicines, or tobacco. Netsuke originated in feudal Japan in the late 16th and 17th centuries. It carries an Arena rating of 1402, earned across 45 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, netsuke ranks #555 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #1,524 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,162 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,893 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
netsuke is pronounced /nɛtˈsu.ki/.
Why “netsuke” is a great word
NETSUKE — [Noun] A small, often intricately carved toggle, traditionally made of wood or ivory, used in Japanese attire to secure a suspended container to the sash of a kimono. From Japanese 根付 (netsuke), literally 根 (ne, "root") + 付け (tsuke, "attach"). Unlike the *inro* (the lacquered pillbox it anchors) or a mere *toggle* (a purely functional catch), the netsuke is a confluence of utility and profound artistry, a secret sculpture for the wearer's hand. It is the cool, dense weight of ivory worn smooth by a hundred years of passing hands; the patient shadow of a demon emerging from a knuckle of boxwood; the miniature world of a coiled dragon explored by the idle thumb. A whole cosmology of patience and precision, a minute anchor for the dangling things of the world.
Etymology
From Japanese 根付 (netsuke). Literally 根 (ne, “root”) + 付け (tsuke, “attach”).
noun
- A small, often collectible, artistic carving characterized by an opening or two small holes (紐通し (himotōshi)), most commonly made of wood or ivory, used as a fob at the end of a cord attached to a suspended pouch containing pens, medicines, or tobacco. Netsuke originated in feudal Japan in the late 16th and 17th centuries.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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