Definitions

used in 仡佬族[gē lǎo zú], Gelao or Klau ethnic group of Guizhou; Taiwan pr. [qì]
strong; brave

Etymology

About

The character 仡 (gē or yì) is a phono-semantic compound. Its left semantic radical 亻 (rén) indicates a human or person, while the right component 乞 (qǐ) provides the phonetic base. Pronounced as yì, it historically served as an adjective in classical texts meaning strong, valiant, or tall. In modern Chinese, it is most commonly pronounced gē, functioning as a proper noun for the Gelao people, an ethnic group in southwestern China, marking a shift from a descriptive term to an ethnolinguistic designation.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern