Definitions

xiù sleeve; ample flowing robes

Etymology

About

is an ancient structural predecessor and alternative form of , meaning 'sleeve'. It is an intricate ideographic and phono-semantic construction incorporating the clothing radical , which is split to enclose its phonetic and semantic elements. Historically, it denoted the part of a garment that covers the arm; its complex internal components were later simplified and standardized into the more recognizable modern . Despite this simplification, the meaning remained strictly limited to the sleeve, and today appears mainly in classical poetry and historical texts as a descriptive term for this specific article of clothing.

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 Jin dynasty (266-420 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern