Definitions

jiān a quiver on a horse; a store

Etymology

About

refers to a leather case used by cavalry to hold a bow or arrows. It is a phono-semantic compound: the radical ("leather") indicates the material, while supplies the pronunciation with no semantic link to archery. Because the object belongs to ancient cavalry equipment, the character now appears mainly in classical historical and martial texts.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern