Definitions
variant of 弦; bow string; string of musical instrument; watch spring; chord (straight line joining two points on a curve); hypotenuse
Etymology
About
The traditional character "絃" is structurally composed of the radical "糸", denoting silk or thread, and the component "玄", which originally provided phonetic guidance. Historically, this character specifically designated the silk strings used on musical instruments such as the guqin. Over time, its meaning extended beyond musical contexts to refer to any taut string or cord, and by metonymy, it also began to denote stringed instruments collectively. This semantic broadening took place without alteration to the character's foundational structure of "糸" and "玄".