hige

[denimdestroyedmylife]

i searched this forum but got nothing. looked in dictionary. nothing. the internet yields mostly manga.

what is the etymology of the word hige? how is it pronounced? how did it get into usage? any precise definitions?

it doesn't help that all my conversations about denim have been virtual.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

shhh....

[AznInvazn]

Hige is just the faded lines that form around the crotch and thigh area.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

word. I knew that, but where'd the word HIGE come from. I mean, is it just an industry term? Any other usage other than denim? Can a waxed cotton jacket HIGE or just fade? Is it a cognate?

shhh....

[snugglepony]

according to denimjunkies.com, it's pronounced "heegay." i'm pretty sure it can apply to any fabric fading along creases, though indigo-dyed denim manifests it most clearly.

that's all i got.

Edited by snugglepony on Mar 17, 2006 at 02:28 PM

[turbozed]

If it's pronounced "heegay" then the word smacks of Japanese origin as that is how you would pronounce it in japanese. This would make sense given the jeans culture there.

I just did a search on the Japanese word "hige" (ひげ) to find the meaning and it came up with:

髭 or 鬚 (I guess there's two kanji for it?) (n) moustache / beard / whiskers.

So there you go, it means whiskers in Japanese.

Interestingly (and perhaps completely unrelated) is that it also means "self-abasement / humility / self-depreciation" (卑下).

Thanks for asking the question! I was unsure of the origin/pronunciation too. Given the "heegay" information, it was relatively easy to piece the puzzle together.

[taromakino]

pronunciation is more like he-ge (ge like gecko) theres no "ay" sound in the japanese language

and you are correct in saying that it means beard/moustache/whiskers.

Edited by taromakino on Mar 17, 2006 at 04:06 PM

[denimdestroyedmylife]

i just KNEW it had to be japanese in origin. HEE-gay, like yr outing some dude? nice. the "whiskers" bit jives, too. the self-depracation angle, though... hmm...

thanks, folks. not sure i will be using hige in conversation, but now i know, and knowing is... half... the...

shhh....

[turbozed]

"pronunciation is more like he-ge (ge like gecko) theres no "ay" sound in the japanese language"

You're correct here. When English speakers learn Japanese, they traditionally treat anything with an "e" in romaji as an "Ay" sound (like saying the letter "A"). So when saying a word like "sake" they pronounce it like "sock-AY" which is a bit more correct than saying "sock-E.' Still, the "e" sound is more correctly a toned down version that sounds more like "eh" as in the name Edward.

This post has nothing to do with denim sorry

[denimdestroyedmylife]

arigato

shhh....

[cultpop 0217]

ive wondered that for years!

awesome.

btw the way i just shaved off my "hige" this evening. i was looking like a 70's porn star.

i'm not a mod or a rocker. i'm a mocker.

[tweeds]

how did we all pronounce hige before we realised it was japanese?

haig?

hidge?

heegee?

:eek:

[__3xL]

I said hi-jeh like " higeurstash "

[Cynlix]

I said hee geh (the way its pronounced correctly). Just cause....I know a little bit of Japanese.

[datasupa]

i said it like numero uno did.....'highj', which rhymes with.....with.......nothing:(

[lilldavid]

the word Hige as it is spelled is pronunced "Hee-geh" in swedish so I've always said it the correct way. HA!

[tweeds]

damn you swedish!

i've always said hee-geh because i know a bit of japanese

[mr fluffernutter]

i said HEEDGE...

dunno why....

now i will say he geh