私刑 (sī xíng) — lynching; illegal punishment carried out by an… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Illegal punishment or execution carried out by individuals or a group without legal authority — most often translated 'lynching' or 'vigilante justice'. It refers to the act itself, not a specific event.

noun

lynchingillegal punishment carried out by an individual or group without legal authority

Examples

，私刑。
Lì shǐ shàng, zhè ge dì qū fā shēng guò duō cì sī xíng shì jiàn.
Historically, this area has seen many instances of lynching.
私刑。
Fǎ lǜ yán jìn rèn hé rén shǐ yòng sī xíng.
The law strictly prohibits anyone from using vigilante justice.
私刑。
Tā men fǎn duì tōng guò sī xíng lái jiě jué wèn tí.
They oppose solving problems through illegal punishment.

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.

私sīprivate

刑xíngpunishment

The '私' (private) specifies that '刑' (punishment) is carried out without legal authority.

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.

禾厶私

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

厶

厶sī私sī

Same sound today

私 combines 禾 and 厶; 厶 originally represented the word, and 禾 was added later.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

井

井jǐng刑xíng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刑 puts 刀 (knife) beside 井. The knife part shows the punishment idea, and 井 gives the sound.

Appears in

Crime & Police Law & Justice

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