Original meaning: wine-warming vessel
Pictograph of a type of vessel used to serve warm wine during ancestor worship ceremonies. Based on the original meaning "wine-warming vessel". The meaning of this character has shifted over time and now means "fedual title or rank".
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tsjak | [ts]ewk | nobility, rank |
說文解字
《說文》:“爵,禮器也。象爵之形,中有鬯酒,又持之也,所以飲。器象爵者,取其鳴節節足足也。,古文爵,象形。”
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of the head of an axe. Used to represent a soldier.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | dzriX | [m-s-]rəʔ | officer; gentleman |
說文解字
《說文》:“士,事也。數始於一,終於十。从一,从十。孔子曰:‘推十合一為士。’”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.59-60
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kuX | [k]ˤaʔ | drum (n.) |
說文解字
《說文》:“鼓,郭也。春分之音,萬物郭皮甲而出,故謂之鼓。从壴。支,象其手擊之也。《周禮》:‘六鼓:靁鼓八面,靈鼓六面,路鼓四面,鼖鼓、皐鼓、晉鼓皆兩面。’,籀文鼓。从古聲。”
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)