县长 (xiàn zhǎng) — county head, county magistrate

Definition

noun
county headcounty magistrate
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 县长。
    Zhè wèi xiàn zhǎng zài rèn qī jiān xiū jiàn le xīn de yī yuàn.
    This county head built a new hospital during his term.
  • 县长。
    xiàn zhǎng Jīn tiān dào cūn lǐ shì chá le nóng yè xiàng mù.
    The county head went to the village today to inspect agricultural projects.
  • 县长。
    Shì mín men xī wàng xiàn zhǎng néng jiě jué jiāo tōng yōng dǔ de wèn tí.
    The citizens hope the county head can solve the traffic congestion problem.

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.

县xiàncounty
长chángleader

县 is a county, and 长 is a leader, so the word means the leader of a county.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 縣; 县 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 縣, not the simplified 县, drew an eye 目 standing for a head hung by a string 糸 from a tree 木. It was borrowed for its sound to write the modern meaning "county", so that picture is unrelated.

Open 县 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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