Original meaning: to use, to control
Depicts a person (卩) using a pestle (午). 午 also represents the sound. The 辵 (walk) component was later added to emphasize action. Based on the original meaning, “to use, to control”. The meaning later shifted to “to govern”. In simplified Chinese 御 is also used to mean "to resist", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 禦.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ngjoX | m-[qʰ](r)aʔ | ward off; withstand |
| ngjoH | [ŋ](r)a-s | drive a chariot (loan) |
說文解字
《說文》：“御，使馬也。从彳，从卸。馭，古文御。从又，从馬。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Original meaning: ritual sacrifice to ward of calamities
Phonosemantic compound. 示 represents the meaning and 御 represents the sound.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | ngjoX | m-qʰ(r)aʔ | ward off, withstand; sacrifice |
說文解字
《說文》：“禦，祀也。从示，御聲。”
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)