臧

zāng, zàng

Rank #4304

Definitions

zāng surname Zang

zāng good; right

zàng old variant of 藏[zàng]; old variant of 臟|脏[zàng]

Etymology

Depicts a weapon (戈) slashing an eye (臣). In ancient China, captured prisoners were blinded with weapons making them into slaves. 爿 was later added as a sound component. Based on the original meaning, "slave; servant". The current meaning "good" is a phonetic loan.

Semantic: 臣 Phonetic: 戕