Definitions

xíng maltose syrup; molasses; heavy (eyelids); drowsy-eyed; listless; (of dough, candy etc) to soften; to become soft and sticky

Etymology phono-semantic

food

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

(táng or xíng) and its traditional form are phono-semantic compounds that historically denoted malt sugar, molasses, or various thick syrups. The semantic component is the 'food' radical (shí) in simplified form or in traditional, marking it as something edible, while the phonetic is (yì) in the simplified character and (yáng) in the traditional. In ancient cuisine, it referred specifically to a sweetener made from sprouted grains, but it now appears only rarely, mostly in historical texts about diet and confectionery.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern