殿
diàn HSK7

hall

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approved by Prismcool · Nov 7, 2023, 05:13 PM · Reviewed by Prismcool on Nov 7, 2023, 05:13 PM

Added extra sources (I couldn't stop laughing the entire time I did this entry...😂)

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Original meaning: to smack the buttocks

Depicts a weapon (殳) smacking a person's buttocks (𡱒). In ancient China, having one's buttocks smacked with a huge stick was one of the punishments criminals could have. Based on the original meaning, "to smack the buttocks". The meaning later shifted to "palace" and "hall", because buildings have an elevated appearance that stick out like buttocks.

Components

𡱒
𡱒 SoundIconic component
tún buttocks

Depicts a person (尸) with their buttocks (𠂤) emphasized. 𡱒 also represents the sound.

Change in sound
殳
殳 Iconic component
shū weapon or tool

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Western Zhou ~800 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Western Jin 266-316 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartdenH[N-t]ˤə[n]-s palace
tenHtˤə[n]-s rear (building, army unit)
tenHtˤə[n]-s palace, hall

說文解字

《說文》：“殿，擊聲也。从殳，聲。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫季旭昇《說文新說》p.227-228ChinaKnowledge.deWiktionary
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)