大典 (dà diǎn) — grand ceremony (e.g., state ceremony, coronation); great collection of classics or encyclopedic work (e.g., 永乐大典)

Definition

大典 refers to either a grand, formal ceremony (such as a coronation or state event) or a comprehensive classical compilation like 永乐大典.

noun
grand ceremony (e.g., state ceremony, coronation)great collection of classics or encyclopedic work (e.g., 永乐大典)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 大典。
    Guó qìng dà diǎn zài tiān ān mén guǎng chǎng jǔ xíng.
    The National Day grand ceremony was held at Tiananmen Square.
  • 大典。
    Zhè bù dà diǎn shōu lù le gǔ dài zhòng yào de wén xiàn.
    This great collection includes important ancient documents.
  • 大典。
    Tā men wèi huáng dì dēng jī jǔ xíng le lóng zhòng de dà diǎn.
    They held a grand ceremony for the emperor's enthronement.

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.

大dàgreat
典diǎnceremony; classic

大 means great and 典 can mean ceremony or classic, so a grand ceremony or great classic.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

  • 冊冊cèbooks
  • 丌丌qítable

典 puts 冊 (books) on a 丌 (table), showing official books resting on a table.

Open 典 →

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