Original meaning: to hunt
Simplified form of 獸. Depicts using a hunting tool (单) and a dog (犬) to hunt and capture wild animals. 口 was later added for unknown reasons. Based on the original meaning "to hunt", now written as 狩. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "beast". The traditional component 犬 was deleted for simplification.
Components
Traditional
Original meaning: to hunt
Depicts using a hunting tool (單) and a dog (犬) to hunt and capture wild animals. 口 was later added for unknown reasons. Based on the original meaning "to hunt", now written as 狩. The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "beast".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syuwH | s.tʰu(ʔ)-s | (wild) animal |
說文解字
《說文》：“獸，守備者。从嘼，从犬。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫李学勤《字源》p.1270黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.616-617
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)