Chinese

Noun

大小

1. size (of dresses, shoes, etc.); proportions; dimensions; magnitude
2. degree of seniority
3. the old and the young; adults and children

Synonyms

• (Cantonese) 大細／大细

Japanese

大小 (daishō): two pairs of katana and wakizashi.

Etymology 1

Compound of 大 ‎(dai, “big, large”) +‎ 小 ‎(shō, “small, little”).^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) だ​いしょう [dáꜜìshòò] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [da̠iɕo̞ː]

Noun

大小 ‎(hiragana だいしょう, romaji daishō)

1. large and small
2. the traditional Japanese pair of swords, consisting of the 大刀 ‎(daitō, “big blade”, i.e. katana) and 小刀 ‎(shōtō, “small blade”, i.e. wakizashi)
3. a pair of taiko drums, consisting of one large and one small taiko
4. long months and short months:
   1. in the lunar calendar, long months of 30 days and short months of 29 days
   2. in the solar calendar, long months of 31 days and short months of 30 days or less

Etymology 2

Appears to be a compound of Old Japanese-derived 大 ‎(ō, “big”) + 小 ‎(sa, “small”, rare reading). Alternatively, may be 大 ‎(ō, “big”) + さ ‎(-sa, suffix indicating degree or amount).

Appears to be mostly obsolete in modern Japanese, superseded by the term 大きさ ‎(ōkisa, “size”, literally “bigness”), from adjective 大きい ‎(ōkii, “big”). The modern Japanese term with the reading of ōsa is 多さ ‎(ōsa, literally “much-ness, many-ness”), from adjective 多い ‎(ōi, “many, much”), deriving from the same Old Japanese root opo as 大きい ‎(ōkii, “big”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [o̞ːsa̠]

Noun

大小 ‎(hiragana おおさ, romaji ōsa, historical hiragana おほさ)

1. (probably obsolete) size
   • 東大寺諷誦文稿 (Tōdaiji Fujumonkō, Tōdai Temple Buddhist Prayer Manuscript) [Benseisha bunko; 12] (in Japanese), Tokyo: 勉誠社 (Benseisha), 796–830, OCLC 33525032, published 1976.

     大小 (おほさ)は雀 (すずめ)の如 (ごと)し

     ohosa wa suzume no gotoshi

     The size was just like that of a sparrow.

References

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