Definitions

zhí pick up; to select

Etymology phono-semantic

hand

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

is a phono-semantic compound: the hand radical () on the left signals a manual action, while the phonetic on the right supplies the sound and carries the notion of a multitude. Originally, it meant to pick up or gather scattered items. This concrete sense later broadened to the abstract collecting of information, texts, or ideas from multiple sources, and the character now commonly occurs in compounds related to selecting and extracting literary materials.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern