耆 (qí) — elderly person (aged 60 or more, literary/bound form)

Definition

耆 (qí) is a literary, bound-form prefix meaning 'elderly (aged 60+)' — seen in fixed compounds like 耆老 and 耆英, not used alone. Unlike the everyday 老人, it carries a formal, reverent tone.

bound form
elderly person (aged 60 or more, literary/bound form)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 耆。
    Zhè wèi qí lǎo zài cūn lǐ hěn yǒu wēi wàng.
    This elderly person has great prestige in the village.
  • 耆。
    qí Yīng jù huì měi nián jǔ xíng yí cì.
    The gathering of distinguished elders is held once a year.
  • 耆。
    Gǔ dài yǐ liù shí wèi qí nián.
    In ancient times, sixty was considered an elderly age.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
老老lǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
旨
旨zhǐ耆qí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耆 combines 老 (old) with 旨, which supplies the sound; the idea of an elderly person comes from 老.

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