Original meaning: thread spool
Pictograph of a warp beam used for holding silk in, also known as a spool. The modern meaning "9th heavenly stem" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | nyim | n[ə]m | 9th heavenly stem |
說文解字
《說文》:“壬,位北方也。陰極陽生,故《易》曰:‘龍戰于野。’戰者,接也。象人褢妊之形。承亥壬以子,生之敘也。與巫同意。壬承辛,象人脛。脛,任體也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 古今文字集成
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of an ancient farming tool. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzyin | [d]ər | 5th earthly branch |
說文解字
《說文》:“震也。三月陽气動,雷電振,民農時也。物皆生。从乙、匕,象芒達,厂聲也。辰,房星,天時也。从二。二,古文上字。,古文辰。”
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)