嫡系 (dí xì) — direct line of descent (in a family lineage); one's own clique, inner circle (in an organization)

Definition

Literally the 'direct line' of a family, extended to mean a leader's closest, trusted inner circle. The two senses share the idea of being officially and unambiguously part of the core — not affiliated by marriage, alliance, or association.

noun
direct line of descent (in a family lineage)one's own cliqueinner circle (in an organization)

Examples

  • 嫡系。
    Tā de dí xì shēn fèn dé dào le jiā zú de rèn kě.
    His status as a direct descendant was recognized by the family.
  • ，嫡系。
    Zài zhèng dǎng nèi, tā shì zǒng tǒng de dí xì hé xīn chéng yuán.
    Within the party, he is a core member of the president's inner circle.
  • 嫡系。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī de dí xì yuán gōng dōu xìn rèn lǎo bǎn de jué cè.
    The employees who are part of the boss's clique all trust his decisions.

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.

嫡dílegitimate/direct
系xìline/lineage

嫡 marks the legitimate direct line, and 系 is the lineage or system, so 嫡系 means direct descent or one's inner circle.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
啇
啇dí嫡dí
Same sound today

嫡 pairs 女 (woman) with 啇, which gives the sound dí, and conveys the idea of “direct bloodline.”

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

系 is made by putting together 手 (hand) and 糸 (silk).

Open 系 →

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