About
Composed of the human radical 亻 and the component 白, which provided phonetic guidance and perhaps a connotation of clarity or distinction, the character "伯" originally functioned within the sphere of kinship to designate the firstborn son or the senior male figure in a family lineage. This inherent notion of primacy and respect naturally extended into the social and political structures of early China, where it was adopted as a title for a specific rank of nobility, representing a lord or count who held authority over a territory, thereby translating familial seniority into a system of feudal hierarchy. Over centuries, while retaining these core meanings, the term also broadened in common usage to address any elder male relative, such as a paternal uncle, or as a polite form of reference for an older man, illustrating how its conceptual anchor in age and precedence allowed for adaptive application across different contexts without losing its fundamental semantic connection to esteemed seniority.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我的伯父很好。
伯母今天来了。
伯爵住在城堡里。
他是著名的伯乐。
大伯教我写书法。
伯父和伯母都退休了。
昨天伯乐发现了他的才能。
伯爵的古老城堡吸引了无数游客。