What is the etymology of shamisen (三味線)?


The instrument clearly has 3 (三) strings (線), but where does 味 exactly fit in?




The instrument originated in China as the [三弦]{sānxián}, and it came to Japan
via Okinawa. The Okinawan instrument's soundbox is covered with a snakeskin.
The older Japanese name for it was 蛇皮【じゃび】線【せん】, literally "snakeskin
strings". This instrument was introduced to the Osaka area from Okinawa during
the 永禄【えいろく】 era (1558-1570). Over time, the _jabi_ portion on the front
shifted pronunciation to _shami_ : the "j" became unvoiced "sh", and the "b"
lost its plosive-ness to become nasal "m".

The 三味 spelling for the _shami_ portion is an example of _ateji_ , with some
meaning overtones of _jukujikun_ in the use of 三 to refer to the three
strings, and (as far as I can tell) pure phonetics for the 味.

See also [the Wiktionary
entry](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%91%B3%E7%B7%9A#Japanese)
(full disclosure: I edited that), and the monlingual Japanese sources at
[Kotobank](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%B8%89%E5%91%B3%E7%B7%9A-76278) and
[Weblio](https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E4%B8%89%E5%91%B3%E7%B7%9A).




The instrument originated in China as the [三弦]{sānxián}, and it came to Japan
via Okinawa. The Okinawan instrument's soundbox is covered with a snakeskin.
The older Japanese name for it was 蛇皮【じゃび】線【せん】, literally "snakeskin
strings". This instrument was introduced to the Osaka area from Okinawa during
the 永禄【えいろく】 era (1558-1570). Over time, the _jabi_ portion on the front
shifted pronunciation to _shami_ : the "j" became unvoiced "sh", and the "b"
lost its plosive-ness to become nasal "m".

The 三味 spelling for the _shami_ portion is an example of _ateji_ , with some
meaning overtones of _jukujikun_ in the use of 三 to refer to the three
strings, and (as far as I can tell) pure phonetics for the 味.

See also [the Wiktionary
entry](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%91%B3%E7%B7%9A#Japanese)
(full disclosure: I edited that), and the monlingual Japanese sources at
[Kotobank](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%B8%89%E5%91%B3%E7%B7%9A-76278) and
[Weblio](https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E4%B8%89%E5%91%B3%E7%B7%9A).

