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土司 (tǔ sī) — (historical) indigenous hereditary headman or chieftain system in minority regions; (loanword) toast (grilled bread)

Definition

Two unrelated meanings share this spelling. As a historical term: an indigenous hereditary chieftain in minority regions (e.g. southwest China); as a loanword from English: toast (the grilled bread).

noun
(historical) indigenous hereditary headman or chieftain system in minority regions(loanword) toast (grilled bread)

Examples

  • 土司。
    Lì shǐ shàng tǔ sī zhì dù zài xī nán dì qū yǐng xiǎng hěn dà.
    The historical tusi system had a great influence in the southwestern region.
  • 土司，。
    Wǒ zǎo shàng xǐ huan chī yí piàn tǔ sī, pèi diǎn huáng yóu.
    I like to have a slice of toast in the morning with some butter.
  • 土司。
    Zhè ge bó wù guǎn zhǎn shì le gǔ dài tǔ sī de wén wù.
    This museum displays artifacts from ancient chieftain systems.

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.

土tǔlocal
司sīoffice

The 土 means local or native and the 司 means office, together naming a hereditary local ruler.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

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

The evidence is inconclusive: one suggestion sees 司 as a mouth giving orders beside a mark of authority, another reads that mark as a hand, and another sees it as a reversed older form.

Open 司 →
Appears in
Grains & StaplesHistory

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