Meaning and origin of 「退がる」


I was reading a manga and a character said:

> 今宵はここまでだ  
>  下がって良いぞ

After they noticed that the person they were talking to didn't move, they
said:

> おい  
>  余は退がれと  
>  言ったのだ

That's why I'm guessing 退がる reads and means the same as 下{さ}がる, but I don't
understand how it came to be. It's hard to find something about it on the
internet.

退{しさ}る comes up. It seems to have the same meaning as 下{さ}がる in this context,
as well as the more modern word 退{しりぞ}く.




### Reading / Spelling

As you noticed, 退がる is not a normal collocation of kanji and okurigana.

Referring to my copy of Shogakukan's _Kokugo Dai Jiten_ (online version
[here](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%80%80-556241#E7.B2.BE.E9.81.B8.E7.89.88.20.E6.97.A5.E6.9C.AC.E5.9B.BD.E8.AA.9E.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E5.85.B8)),
退 has the following recognized _kun'yomi_ :

  * 退る【しさる】
  * 退く【しぞく】
  * 退く【しりぞく】
  * 退ける【しりぞける】
  * 退る【すさる】
  * 退く【そく】
  * 退く【どく】
  * 退かす【どかす】
  * 退ける【どける】
  * 退く【のく】
  * 退かす【のかす】
  * 退ける【のける】
  * 退く【ひく】
  * 退ける【ひける】

Despite the impressive number of potential readings, none of them end in ～がる,
nor even ～ぐ.

### Origins

As you guessed from the context, this appears to be author's license in
choosing a non-standard spelling for the verb 下【さ】がる ("to draw back, to
leave"). A common synonym for this is indeed 退【しりぞ】く. This kind of cross-use,
where the author uses a reading from one word and the spelling from another,
is very common in manga. Usually, you'll get furigana to help with the
reading, but sometimes those will be omitted.




### Reading / Spelling

As you noticed, 退がる is not a normal collocation of kanji and okurigana.

Referring to my copy of Shogakukan's _Kokugo Dai Jiten_ (online version
[here](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%80%80-556241#E7.B2.BE.E9.81.B8.E7.89.88.20.E6.97.A5.E6.9C.AC.E5.9B.BD.E8.AA.9E.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E5.85.B8)),
退 has the following recognized _kun'yomi_ :

  * 退る【しさる】
  * 退く【しぞく】
  * 退く【しりぞく】
  * 退ける【しりぞける】
  * 退る【すさる】
  * 退く【そく】
  * 退く【どく】
  * 退かす【どかす】
  * 退ける【どける】
  * 退く【のく】
  * 退かす【のかす】
  * 退ける【のける】
  * 退く【ひく】
  * 退ける【ひける】

Despite the impressive number of potential readings, none of them end in ～がる,
nor even ～ぐ.

### Origins

As you guessed from the context, this appears to be author's license in
choosing a non-standard spelling for the verb 下【さ】がる ("to draw back, to
leave"). A common synonym for this is indeed 退【しりぞ】く. This kind of cross-use,
where the author uses a reading from one word and the spelling from another,
is very common in manga. Usually, you'll get furigana to help with the
reading, but sometimes those will be omitted.

