Korean

Noun

미르 • ‎(mireu)

1. (obsolete) dragon
   • (probable cognate) 물 (mur, mul) water, (obsolete) river

Alternative forms

• 미리 ‎(miri) (miri)

Synonyms

• 용 ‎(yong) (龍, yong)
  • 개천에서 용 났다. (gaecheon-eseo yong nassda) This is said especially when a great man emerged out of the most unlikely background. This literally means that a dragon has emerged out of a brook. That is, what appears so unlikely happened strikingly in reality. It also suggests that a long river can be an analogy, embodiment, or at least birthplace of a dragon.
  • 이 논엔 용이 올라갔다. (i non-en yong-i ollagassda.) (The bold-faced idiom literally means "the dragon has risen".) There is no water in this paddy.

See also

• 한물 ‎(hanmul) (hanmur, -mul) flood; prime, season (the best time)
• 아무르강 ‎(amureugang) (-江, amureu-gang) Amur River
  • Chinese: 黑龍江 (pinyin: Hēilóng Jiāng), "Black Dragon River"
  • Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, "Black River"
  • Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн (Khara-Muren), "Black River"
  • Russian: Амур (Amur), perhaps meaning "Black Dragon" or "North River (Waters)"
  • Korean: (assumed) *가물 (gamur) probably from 가무- (gamu-) "black" + 물 (mur) "water, river" or 미르 (mireu) "dragon"