What is the etymology of 斥

Question

Learning the word 斥 chì to blame,to reprimand, to expel, (of territory) to expand. What is the etymology and how it is to blame?

Answer 1

「斥」 (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*tʰAk/) was originally a character formed by modifying 「宅」 (/*m-tˤak/, dwelling). The modern meaning either originated as a phonetic loan or semantic extension (expand one's dwelling > expand territory > to expel (enemies) > to reprimand > to blame).

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時期 字體	字形	參考資料
商 甲		乙2256 合集14206
西周 金		𣄰尊 集成6014
戰國・晉 古幣		81 古幣文編
戰國・楚 簡		190 包山楚簡
戰國・楚 簡		109 望山楚簡1
秦 簡		8.11 睡虎地秦簡
東漢 隸		陰 魯峻碑
楷

　

　

　

　

　

First, an internal sequence of developments in 「宅」 caused 「宀」 to sometimes be corrupted into 「厂」 or 「广」, forming 「厇」 or 「㡯」, respectively.

　

Next, the inside was phonetically corrupted into 「屰」 (/*ŋrak/).

　

　

Further corruptions caused the shape to morph into something that looked identical to 「厈」, then eventually changing into 「斥」.

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References:

• 季旭昇《說文新證》
• 漢語多功能字庫
• 小學堂字形演變
• 國學大師
  • 郭沫若《甲骨文合集》
  • 中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》

Answer 2

斥 has both components that have been corrupted over time. It comprises 广 and 屰. 广 is a roof, meaning home or building related, while 屰 is an upside-down 大, meaning reverse. When you expel or dismiss a person, you send them on the reverse direction and away from the building. 屰 is possibly a sound component as well.

Correct me if I am wrong, but blame is likely a borrowed meaning from the derived character 訴.

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