本字
root; origin; book
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesnoun
the original form of a character; etymological character
formalA term used in historical Chinese linguistics and philology to refer to the original character form before simplification, borrowing, or sound change led to a new common form.
In philological research, "擘" is the original character form of "掰".
"般" is the original character form of "搬".
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Experts are investigating the original character form of this ancient word.
noun
the character representing the original meaning of a word
formalRefers to the specific character used to write the core, original meaning of a word, as opposed to characters used for extended or borrowed meanings.
The original meaning of "脚" is "lower leg," and its character representing that original meaning is still "脚".
This word has several extended meanings; we need to find the character representing its original meaning.
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In ancient texts, the same word might be recorded using different characters representing its original meaning.