滚木 (gǔn mù) — rolling log; log used as a roller or as an ancient weapon

Definition

A log used as a roller to move heavy objects or, in ancient warfare, rolled down a slope to crush enemies.

noun
rolling loglog used as a roller or as an ancient weapon
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • ，滚木。
    Zài gǔ dài zhàn chǎng shàng, gǔn mù bèi yòng lái shā shāng dí rén.
    On ancient battlefields, rolling logs were used to kill and wound enemies.
  • 滚木。
    Gōng rén men yòng gǔn mù bǎ jù shí gǔn xià shān pō.
    The workers used rolling logs to roll the huge stone down the hillside.
  • 滚木，。
    Lù biān duī fàng zhe jǐ gēn gǔn mù, fáng zhǐ chē liàng tōng guò.
    Several rolling logs were piled by the roadside to prevent vehicles from passing.

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.

滚gǔnroll
木mùwood/log

滚 means roll and 木 means wood or log, giving a rolling log.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滾; 滚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
袞
袞gǔn滾gǔn
Same sound today

The traditional form 滾 pairs 水 (water) with 袞, which supplies the pronunciation. The simplified 滚 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 袞.

Open 滚 →

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

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Open 木 →

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