Pictograph of the head of an axe. Used to represent a soldier.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzriX | [m-s-]rəʔ | officer; gentleman |
說文解字
《說文》：“士，事也。數始於一，終於十。从一，从十。孔子曰：‘推十合一為士。’”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.59-60
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Original meaning: to finish sewing clothes
Depicts clothing (衣) with intersecting lines indicating that the clothing is done being sewed. Based on the original meaning, "to finish sewing clothes". The meaning later shifted to "to finish" and "to die" while its other meaning "soldier" is a phonetic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tswit | [ts]ut | finish, die |
| tswot | [ts]ˤut | soldier |
說文解字
《說文》：“卒，隸人給事者衣為卒。卒，衣有題識者。”
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)