qín
螓
ancient insect resembling a cicada
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
an insect resembling a cicada (mentioned in ancient texts)
archaicThis term is archaic and appears in classical Chinese texts such as the *Book of Songs* (*Shījīng*), where it is used to describe the forehead of a beautiful woman (螓首). It is not used in modern spoken Chinese.
《
Shī诗
jīng经
》
zhōng中
tí提
dào到
de的
qín螓
shǒu首
，
xíng形
róng容
nǚ女
zǐ子
é额
tóu头
fāng方
zhèng正
guǎng宽
kuān广
rú如
qín螓
。
The term 'qínshǒu' mentioned in the Book of Songs describes a woman's forehead as square and broad like a cicada's head.
Gǔ古
shū书
shàng上
jì记
zǎi载
，
qín螓
shì是
yī一
zhǒng种
xíng形
tǐ体
bǐ比
chán蝉
lüè略
xiǎo小
de的
kūn昆
chóng虫
。
Ancient books record that the qín is an insect slightly smaller than the common cicada.
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Xué学
zhě者
men们
rèn认
wéi为
，
qín螓
kě可
néng能
shì是
mǒu某
zhǒng种
chán蝉
zài在
gǔ古
dài代
de的
fāng方
yán言
míng名
chēng称
。
Scholars believe that qín may have been a dialectal name for a certain type of cicada in ancient times.