Definitions

hóng surname Hong
hóng big; gate

Etymology phono-semantic

gate

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

(traditional ) is a phono-semantic compound combining the semantic radical 'gate' and the phonetic . Originally it denoted a large gate or the main entrance to an alley or village. The meaning then broadened to vastness and grandeur, and it is commonly used as an adjective meaning 'vast' or 'magnificent', extending from physical largeness to the abstract expansiveness of ideas, knowledge, or spaces.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern