Original meaning: ears of a grain plant
Depicts the ripe drooping ears of a grain stalk (禾). 彡 was later added as a decorative mark. Based on the original meaning "ears of a grain plant". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "majestic".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | mjuwk | m(r)iwk | harmonious |
說文解字
《說文》：“穆，禾也。从禾，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)
Original meaning: bush
Phonosemantic compound. 林 represents the meaning and 疋 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "bush". The meaning later shifted to "distinct" and "clear".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsrhjoX | [s.r̥]aʔ | arrange in order |
| tsrhjoX | s.r̥aʔ | thorns | |
| tsrhjoX | s.r̥aʔ | name of a state |
說文解字
《說文》：“楚，叢木。一名荊也。从林，疋聲。”
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)
Traditional
Pictograph of a horse.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | maeX | mˤraʔ | horse |
說文解字
《說文》：“馬，怒也；武也。象馬頭髦尾四足之形。，古文。，籀文馬與同，有髦。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.741-742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)