镖师 (biāo shī) — (historical) armed escort, bodyguard (for traveling merchants or caravans)

Definition

Historical term for a paid armed escort who protected merchant caravans along dangerous trade routes. Distinct from a modern bodyguard (保镖); 镖师 carried armed escort credentials (镖) issued by an escort agency (镖局).

noun
(historical) armed escortbodyguard (for traveling merchants or caravans)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 镖师。
    Gǔ dài shāng rén cháng cháng gù yōng biāo shī bǎo hù huò wù.
    Ancient merchants often hired armed escorts to protect their goods.
  • 镖师，。
    Zhè wèi biāo shī wǔ yì gāo qiáng, cóng wèi shī shǒu.
    This bodyguard was highly skilled in martial arts and never failed.
  • 镖师。
    Biāo jú lǐ de biāo shī dōu jīng guò yán gé xùn liàn.
    The bodyguards in the escort agency all underwent strict training.

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.

镖biāoescort
师shīmaster

镖 (escort) and 师 (master) together give a master skilled in guarding goods or people.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 镖 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 師; 师 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤
  • 帀帀zā

The traditional form 師 combines 𠂤 and 帀; the simplified 师 is not the form explained here.

Open 师 →

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