祗 (zhī) — (bound form) respect, reverence (in classical/literary compounds)
Definition
A classical, bound-form morpheme meaning 'respect / reverence.' It only appears in literary compounds like 祗敬, not as a standalone word.
bound form
respectreverence (in classical/literary compounds)
Examples
- 祗。Tā huái zhe zhī jìng zhī xīn jiē shòu le zhè ge rèn wu.He accepted this task with a reverent heart.
- 祗。Tā duì zǔ xiān huái yǒu zhī jìng zhī qíng.He harbors reverent feelings toward his ancestors.
- 祗。Zhè piān wén zhāng de zhǔ tí shì zhī jìng.The theme of this essay is reverence.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
氐
氐dī祗zhī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
祗 is made from 示 and 氐. 示 is the meaning part, and 氐 is the sound part.
Appears in
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