Definitions
(noun)
class; rank; grade
(adjective)
equal to; same as
(verb)
to wait for; to await
(particle)
et cetera; and so on
Etymology
Phonosemantic compound. ⺮ represents the meaning and 寺 represents the sound.
About
The character "等", with its traditional form also written as "等", is structurally composed of the bamboo radical (⺮) placed above the phonetic component 寺 (sì). This construction originally conveyed the concept of arranging and leveling bamboo slips used for writing, leading to its early meanings related to making even, sorting, or ordering items into classes. From this sense of ordered grouping, the character's meaning extended to signify things of the same kind or level, giving it the central meaning of "equal" or "similar". The idea of ordering also provided the basis for its use as a pluralizing suffix or a marker for listing items, implying a series of comparable things, and further developed into a grammatical particle indicating a pause or the end of an enumeration.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
请等我一下
我们在等朋友
他等了三小时
等等别着急
我需要笔纸等等
耐心等待机会
如果你等不及可以先离开
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