5
votes
Accepted
鉛 Reading Phonology
Bu (2018, p. 75-76) contests that changed to avoid confusion among minerals:
These two characters are excellent examples of phono-semantic dissimilation because each has an potentially ambiguous ...
Mou某♦
- 36k
4
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Why is it written 安详 and not 安祥?
One of the original meanings of 详 is being prudent or careful. Later its meaning was generalized to "behaving in a peaceful and steady way." When 详 is used standalone this meaning is not ...
- 2,502
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Why did 鲁迅 write 贿路 and not 贿赂 ("bribe")?
The article in question was published in 1933 in 申报月刊, but I can't locate a copy of that magazin. However, I was able to get a copy of 《南腔北调集》 published by 鲁迅先生纪念委员会 in 1941 through my university ...
- 2,502
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why is "象" meaning representation, form, shape etc.?
象 (xiàng; elephant, shape, form) (Baxter-Sagart OC: /*s-[d]aŋʔ/) is a straightforward depiction of an elephant turned on its side, indicating the original meaning "elephant".
The other ...
- 746
3
votes
Accepted
Translation of organic compound in classical Chinese
there’s a wiki page 華製新漢語及中文固有語 mentioned:
【官品】有機物、有機體、（官，即organ；品，謂一類事物。）
that, 嚴復 invented this term 😸
organ —> 器官
“品”, the same usage as “某一類東西的總稱”, like “必需品”, “補品”
have fun :)
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What is the etymology of 鱷梨, meaning "avocado"?
The word 鳄梨 is attested from these early 20th century works:
an overview of the Dutch East Indies (now principally Indonesia), 《科學的南洋: 荷屬東印度編》, published in Shanghai by the Commercial Press (商务印书馆) ...
- 6,786
3
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Why is it written 安详 and not 安祥?
安(calm)详(prudent) and not 安(calm)祥(luck).
安(calm)详(prudent), composed - 指神态平静、从容稳重。如“神态安详、面容安详、他安详地睡着了”.
吉(good)祥(luck) - "吉祥如意".
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2
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Is it a coincidence that 吗 and 吧 sound like 妈 and 爸 respectively?
No, they are not related. Even though 爸 and 妈 are the current formal way to say dad and mom, they were not so common in the history, and different dialects use different words. In classic Chinese, ...
- 416
2
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Is it a coincidence that 吗 and 吧 sound like 妈 and 爸 respectively?
Interesting Question.
But I believe that the Chinese characters "吗" (ma) and "吧" (ba) are not directly related to "妈" (mā) and "爸" (bà).
They are particles used ...
- 144
2
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Accepted
Why "again" is expressed differently in the present and in the past. (又 and 再)
Although not all Chinese varieties use the two words 再 vs 又, the distinction represented is fairly common across all the Chinese languages, with very few even possessing a merged 'again' (閣 koh in ...
- 6,786
2
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Accepted
Two etymologies of "天上有地下无"?
Actually, "天上有，地下无" can not be called as a Chinese saying because there is no origin. It is just an expression that shares the same meaning with "天上少有，地下无双".
"天上少有，地下无双" ...
- 56
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What is the etymology behind 角色?
脚色
"脚色" /juésè/ is often written as "角色"/juésè/
演员根据[脚]本演绎各[色]人物 - The actors play various characters according to the script.
脚本 = script
各色人物 = various characters
脚色/ 角色 = ...
- 80.7k
2
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Why do some terms related to writing or linguistics in general contain the word/character for "mother"?
The reason is due largely to the sensational logic that existed in the ancient matriarchal society, in which motherhood was highly regarded with the belief that "the mother is the primary source ...
- 14.3k
2
votes
Accepted
Glyph origin and etymology of 羹?
Here's Outlier's breakdown:
FORM
羹 is composed of 美 and 羔 “a sheep being barbequed,” which indicate the original meaning “vegetable or mutton soup cooked in a bronze vessel, like a dǐng (鼎) or lì (鬲)...
Mou某♦
- 36k
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What is the etymology of 鱷梨, meaning "avocado"?
It seems the Chinese translated the English corruption of Spanish aguacate: alligato -> alligator pear, 鳄梨
aguacate: originally: Nahuatl (Aztecan) ahuakatl -> Spanish aguacate
By the late 16th ...
- 18.9k
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What's the semantic relationship between the morphemes in words like 君主, 君王 and 帝王?
Hear is my understanding, based partly in Archie Barnes' book Chinese through Poetry.
For a few words like 君主, 君王 and 帝王, I can't figure out the semantic relationship.
I think these compounds have a ...
- 939
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What's the semantic relationship between the morphemes in words like 君主, 君王 and 帝王?
From my answer to another post
They are called 同义复词 (synonym compounds).
A compound has one meaning, not two same meanings.
柵欄 (fence) is not 'fence, fence'
繩索 (rope) is not 'rope, rope'
帝王 is ...
- 80.7k
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What is the origin of the word 交通? How did it originally mean "communications" and how did it evolve to mean "transportation"?
交通 （汉语词语）- to be connected thru the forms of traffic, transportation, communications, and liaison.
交通是指从事旅客和货物运输及语言和图文传递的行业，包括运输和邮电两个方面，在国民经济中属于第三产业。运输有铁路、公路、水路、空路、管道五种方式，邮电包括邮政和电信两方面内容。
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What is the origin of the word 交通? How did it originally mean "communications" and how did it evolve to mean "transportation"?
What is the origin of the word 交通? How did it originally mean "communications" and how did it evolve to mean "transportation"?
The word 交通 may come from《易经》“天地交而万物通”. In the ...
- 4,568
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What is the origin of the word 交通? How did it originally mean "communications" and how did it evolve to mean "transportation"?
交通 (traffic) is a compound word made up of 交(crossing) and 通(passing), it is not hard to comprehend
"communications" is the "traffic of information"
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Etymology of 冰淇淋
淇淋 is a borrow word turned regular vocab.
冰 is the regular ice word in chinese. 淇淋 is a borrow word and directly saying the english word cream in chinese-- not in mandarin but in cantonese originally....
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Etymology of 冰淇淋
ice cream中的cream的意思就是奶油，而奶油的另一个名称就是麦淇淋(Margarine)，人们为了简化，于是就去掉了“麦”字，再加上ice（冰）。因此，冰淇淋这个名字就是这么样得来的。
https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/1999137538382287067.html?qbl=relate_question_1
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The method or madness in combining two characters together for a new meaning
辛苦: 比喻艰难困苦
辛苦: metaphorically: difficult, toilsome
Well, hard means: solid and firm, not soft: 硬
Another meaning of hard is difficult, a meaning preserved in the phrase: hard of hearing
Related to ...
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辛苦 meaning and bushou for 辛 and 苦
Quote:- "...what about 苦苦...."
As for why isn't 苦苦 equate to "double bitterness", well, 囍, "double happiness", is more a single-event occurrence due to the specific ...
- 4,132
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辛苦 meaning and bushou for 辛 and 苦
辛 is a sharpness in taste, it may also mean spiciness
苦 means bitterness
辛苦 means hardship
The characters you see at weddings are 喜 and 囍.
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What is the etymology of 鱷梨, meaning "avocado"?
Question. How come avocado came to be (dialectally) called an "alligator pear" in English, and how did this term got calque'd into Chinese as 鱷梨?
Per Wikidictionary, the word "...
- 14.3k
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Why is Chick-fil-A called 達 堡 可 福?
達堡可福 is not a translation or transliteration of Chick-fil-A, it is either a Chinese name for this restaurant or a slogan, Chinese call Chick-fil-A "福来鸡"
達 - arrive
堡 - castle --> 漢堡 ...
- 80.7k
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Why is Chick-fil-A called 達 堡 可 福?
I searched and the Chinese translated name is 福来鸡/福乐鸡。
I know little about this brand. I guess 達堡可福 is a name translated according to its deep meaning. The phonetic is also a reasonable guess.
The ...
- 260
1
vote
Accepted
When did 民權 enter the Chinese language?
近现代汉语辞源 page 1067: 民权 was attested in 1878 《公法便览》, a translation of Introduction to the study of International Law by Theodore Dwight Woolsey.
- 2,502
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Why did 鲁迅 write 贿路 and not 贿赂 ("bribe")?
Auctually, there are many similar examples in most of 鲁迅's works, like “烂熳” as “烂漫” in《藤野先生》. People usually call this 通假字. But there are also some people say that 鲁迅 just wrote the wrong character. ...
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