Japanese

Noun

アイス ‎(romaji aisu)

1. ice
2. sorbet, ice pop; ice cream
3. (slang, archaic, c. mid-late Meiji period) loan shark, usurer

Usage notes

In the sense of usurer, this word emerged as a play on words, as 高利貸し ‎(kōrigashi, “usurer”, literally “high-interest lender”) and 氷菓子 ‎(kōrigashi, “ice pop”, literally “frozen dessert”) have the same readings. This led to usurers being referred to as アイスキャンディー ‎(aisukyandī, “ice pop”, literally “ice candy”), shortened to just アイス (aisu).^[1][2]

Synonyms

1. 氷, 冰 (kōri); 氷, 冰 (hi)
2. 氷菓子 (kōrigashi); 氷菓 (hyōka)

References

1. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9