Original meaning: a type of snake creature
Derived from 巳. Depicts a snake-like creature. Based on the original meaning "a type of snake creature". The current meaning "already" is a phonetic loan.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | yiX | ɢ(r)əʔ | cease; already |
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.979
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
Simplified
Original meaning: warp thread
Simplified form of 經. Originally written 巠, which depicts weaving vertical (warp) threads on a loom. The 纟 (thread) component was added later. Based on the original meaning "warp thread". The meaning later expanded to "pass through", "regulate", and "classic books".
Components
Traditional
Original meaning: warp thread
Originally written 巠, which depicts weaving vertical (warp) threads on a loom. The 糹 (thread) component was added later. Based on the original meaning "warp thread". The meaning later expanded to "pass through", "regulate", and "classic books".
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | keng | k-lˤeŋ | loom; regulate; norm |
說文解字
《說文》：“經，織也。从糸，巠聲。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新證》p.804
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)