百夫长 (bǎi fū zhǎng) — centurion (in the Roman Empire); low-ranking military officer (in ancient China)

Definition

Literally 'hundred-man leader'. In Roman contexts it refers to a centurion; in ancient China it was a low-ranking officer commanding about 100 soldiers.

noun
centurion (in the Roman Empire)low-ranking military officer (in ancient China)

Examples

  • 百夫长。
    Luó mǎ dì guó de bǎi fū zhǎng tōng cháng zhǐ huī yì bǎi míng shì bīng.
    A centurion in the Roman Empire usually commanded a hundred soldiers.
  • ，百夫长。
    Zài gǔ dài zhōng guó, bǎi fū zhǎng shì yí gè jiào dī de jūn guān zhí wèi.
    In ancient China, a centurion was a relatively low-ranking officer position.
  • 百夫长。
    Lì shǐ xué jiā yán jiū le luó mǎ bǎi fū zhǎng de rì cháng shēng huó.
    Historians have studied the daily life of Roman centurions.

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.

百夫hundred men
百bǎihundred夫fūmen
偏正Modifier + head
长chángchief

百夫长 denotes a chief over 百夫, a hundred men.

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
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

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

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

夫 originally drew a man. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write a pronoun, so the picture and the pronoun meaning are unrelated.

Open 夫 →

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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