Original meaning: to be elevated
Depicts two feet (舛) on top of a tree (木). Based on the original meaning, "to be elevated", now written as 傑. The current meaning "cruel" is a phoentic loan.
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | gjet | N-[k]<r>at | remarkable; hero |
| gjet | m-[k]<r>at | perch for fowls | |
| kjet | [k]<r>at | lift, raise |
說文解字
《說文》：“桀，磔也。从舛在木上也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 黃德寬《古文字譜系疏證》p.2404
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)