Original meaning: weapon handle
Pictograph of a weapon handle, now written as 柲. 八 was later added as a decorative mark. Similar to 戈 but without the blade. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | pjit | pi[t] | necessarily |
說文解字
《說文》：“必，分極也。从八、弋，弋亦聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 林志強《《文源》評注》p.441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)
Traditional
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syejH | ŋ̊et-s | circumstances, setting |
說文解字
《說文新附》：“勢，盛力，權也。从力，埶聲。”
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)