封爵 (fēng jué) — to ennoble (someone), to grant a title of nobility (in ancient China)

Definition

Historical verb: an emperor granting a noble title (e.g. 公、侯、伯) to someone for service or merit. Used in classical or historical contexts, not everyday speech.

verb
to ennoble (someone)to grant a title of nobility (in ancient China)

Examples

  • 封爵。
    Huáng dì fēng jué gěi nà wèi jiāng jūn yí gè hěn gāo de jué wèi.
    The emperor granted a very high noble title to that general.
  • 。
    Tā yīn wèi zhàn gōng bèi fēng le yí gè bó jué.
    He was granted the title of earl because of his military achievements.
  • 封爵。
    Lì shǐ shàng xǔ duō kāi guó gōng chén dōu dé dào le fēng jué.
    Many founding ministers in history received noble titles.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

封fēnggrant
爵juétitle

'封' means to grant, and '爵' is a noble title, so the word means to grant a title.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

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

爵 originally pictured a sparrow-shaped wine vessel, sometimes with a hand holding it. In the modern form, the vessel's parts were reshaped and separated.

Open 爵 →

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