Pictograph of a person with a line added at the head area, representing the meaning "head" or "first".
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ngjwon | [ŋ]o[r] (< nasal + uvular) | head; first |
說文解字
《說文》：“元，始也。从一，从兀。”
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)
Pictograph of a head (hair above a face with an eye).
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | syuwX | l̥uʔ | head |
| syuwH | l̥uʔ-s | turn the head towards |
說文解字
《說文》：“首，同，古文也。巛象髮，謂之鬊，鬊即巛也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.700
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)