About
The character "祆" was created to denote the Zoroastrian religion and its deities, formed by combining the radical "示", which indicates matters of worship or the divine, with the component "天" meaning heaven, suggesting a celestial god. Its etymology stems from the need for a dedicated term upon Zoroastrianism's introduction to China, and the character's structure has consistently maintained this composition. The meaning of "祆" has been exclusively tied to Zoroastrianism since its inception, without semantic shift or expansion to other contexts.
Etymology Hide
