马队 (mǎ duì) — caravan; cavalry | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

马队 refers to a group of horse riders or horse-drawn vehicles operating together — historically a cavalry unit in war or a caravan of packhorses on trade routes.

noun

caravancavalry

Measure word · 支

Examples

马队。
Yì zhī mǎ duì zài shā mò zhōng zǒu le sān tiān.
A caravan walked in the desert for three days.
马队。
mǎ duì Xiàng dí rén fā qǐ le jìn gōng.
The cavalry launched an attack on the enemy.
，马队。
Gǔ dài, mǎ duì shì zhòng yào de yùn shū hé zhàn dòu lì liàng.
In ancient times, the caravan/cavalry was an important transport and combat force.

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.

马 and 队 combine to mean a team or column of horses.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

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 隊; 队 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

㒸

㒸㒸隊duì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隊 has 阜 as the meaning part and 㒸 as the sound part.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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