Etymology

raku

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Today it means: A style of Japanese pottery, considered the traditional style for the pottery used in the Japanese tea ceremony; (especially capitalized) such pottery made by the Raku family. Full definition →

Japanese 楽
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Raku · proper noun1

  1. Japanese · borrowed from楽“fun, delightful”
  2. English todayRaku

From Japanese 楽 (raku, “fun, delightful”). A seal engraved with this word was marked on the early pieces. It was the title and seal used by 15 generations of potters.

Raku · proper noun2

  1. Japanese · borrowed from駱駝“camel”
  2. English todayRaku

Probably a clipping of rakudo, the standard compiler, from Japanese 駱駝 (rakuda, “camel”), an allusion to the traditional symbol of the Perl language.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.