Original meaning: earthen jar
Pictograph of a earthen jar for holding liquid, now written as 瓮. The current meaning "public" is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kuwng | C.qˤoŋ | impartial, just; public |
| kuwng | C.qˤoŋ | father; prince |
說文解字
《說文》：“公，平分也。从八、从厶。八，猶背也。韓非曰：‘背厶為公’。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.86-87
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Simplified
Pictograph of a type of hunting or military tool.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kan | [k]ˤar | pole |
| kan | kˤa[r] | shield (n.) | |
| kan | kˤar | piece, item | |
| kan | kˤar | (placename) |
說文解字
《說文》：“干，犯也。从反入，从一。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.146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
Component uses
Sound (0 of 1 verified)
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kanH | [k]ˤar-s | stem; framework |
說文解字
《說文》：“榦，築牆耑木也。从木，倝聲。”
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)