What does the notation 【方】 mean in a Chinese dictionary?

Question

In a dictionary entry reading…

saggy adj.【方】下垂的；垂曲的；中陷的。

…, what does the notation 【方】 mean?

(Other examples of this notation that I understand include “【美俗】” (American slang), “【解剖】” (anatomy), and “【數學】” (mathematics).)

I’d prefer source material in an answer.

source material:袖珍英汉辞典 A Pocket English-Chinese Dictionary 商务印书馆１９７２北京缩写语（方）。。。方言 — user6065, Jan 1, 2019 at 13:30
Usually the dictionary itself would list all such abbreviation used in the beginning of the dictionary. — fefe, Jan 2, 2019 at 4:33
For whatever reason, it didn’t occur to me to check the front of the dictionary; I looked up “方” on Wiktionary instead which says nothing about dialects or topolects. “place; region; locality” is the closest definition listed. It didn’t help that the word “方言” was missing from my vocabulary. — Patrick Dark, Jan 2, 2019 at 14:12

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:50:11Z

10

【方】

Is short for 方言.

方言 is defined by mdbg as:

topolect / dialect

Why saggy is considered topolectical or dialectical, though, is beyond me.

CommunityBot

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answered Jan 1, 2019 at 14:54

Mou某♦

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This is the correct answer; I should have checked the front of the dictionary per fefe’s comment: it reads “【方】方言 dialect”.
– Patrick Dark
Jan 2, 2019 at 14:08

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PandaDD · Accepted Answer · 2019-01-02 05:52:03Z

-3

This notation “方” is not short for “方言”.

“方” in “方言、前方” means region.

It's “方正(方方正正)”, which means honesty or integrity.

answered Jan 2, 2019 at 4:13

PandaDD

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