Original meaning: pedestal
Depicts a platform to put things on. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pjaengX | praŋʔ | 3d heavenly stem |
說文解字
《說文》：“丙，位南方，萬物成炳然。陰气初起，陽气將虧，从一入冂。一者，陽也。丙承乙，象人肩。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.961漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: pestle
Pictograph of a pestle used for pounding rice, now written as 杵. The current meaning "noon" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nguX | [m].qʰˤaʔ | 7th earthly branch |
| nguX | m-qʰˤaʔ | resist; cross-wise |
說文解字
《說文》：“午，啎也。五月陰氣午逆陽，冒地而出。此予矢同意。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)