中心词 (zhōng xīn cí) — headword (main entry in a dictionary)

Definition

A linguistics/dictionary term for the main word of an entry — the headword. Used in grammar analysis (the central word in a phrase) and in lexicography.

noun
headword (main entry in a dictionary)

Examples

  • 中心词“”。
    Zhè yí yè de zhōng xīn cí shì "xué xí".
    The headword on this page is 'study'.
  • 中心词。
    Měi gè zhōng xīn cí dōu yǒu xiáng xì de jiě shì.
    Every headword has a detailed explanation.
  • 中心词。
    Wǒ men zhǎo dào le nà ge zhōng xīn cí.
    We found that headword.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

中心center
中zhōngmiddle心xīncore
联合Side by side
词cíword

中心 names the core or middle, and 词 is a word, so the name points to the central word.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →

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