Definitions
flute; pipe, ancient measure
Etymology
Pictograph of an ancient wind instrument with bamboo pipes.
About
The character "龠" originates from a pictographic depiction of an ancient wind instrument consisting of several bamboo pipes bound together, with its traditional form incorporating components such as multiple "口" elements and vertical strokes that suggest the instrument's pipes and their openings. Its initial meaning referred specifically to this type of panpipe, but over centuries the term also acquired a metrological function, denoting a unit of volume in ancient Chinese measurement systems equivalent to one-tenth of a dan. This semantic expansion likely occurred through an association between the cylindrical shape of the instrument's pipes and standardized containers used for measurement. The character's structure has not been simplified, maintaining a complex arrangement that visually echoes its original representation.
Etymology Hide
