netsuke
Syllables: ne·tsu·keUS/nɛtˈsu.ki/
netsuke 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.
Noun
netsuke (plural netsukes or netsuke)
- 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.
Forms of netsuke
| plural | netsukes |
|---|---|
| plural | netsuke |
Origin of netsuke
From Japanese 根付 (netsuke). Literally 根 (ne, “root”) + 付け (tsuke, “attach”).
Questions about netsuke
- What does netsuke mean?
- 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.
- What part of speech is netsuke?
- Netsuke is a noun.
- How do you pronounce netsuke?
- Netsuke is pronounced /nɛtˈsu.ki/ (US).
- What is the plural of netsuke?
- The plural of netsuke is netsukes.
Words near netsuke in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: netsuke (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “netsuke.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/netsuke. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.