Definitions
(noun)
soldier; servant
(verb)
to die
(adverb)
finally; at last
(noun)
pawn in Chinese chess
Etymology
Depicts clothing (衣) with intersecting lines indicating that the clothing is done being sewed. Based on the original meaning, "to finish sewing clothes". The meaning later shifted to "to finish" and "to die" while its other meaning "soldier" is a phonetic loan.
About
The character 卒 initially denoted a servant or soldier, with its form conceptually linked to the idea of clothing, reflecting the attire of such roles. This structural etymology, involving components suggestive of a garment, underpinned its early semantic field. Over centuries, the term's meaning broadened from referring to a person of low rank to encompassing the ideas of completion and death, as these abstract notions developed from the concrete context of ending one's service or life, a transition evident in historical literary usage.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他去年从大学毕业。
这名年轻的士兵最终成为一名勇卒。
国际象棋中，保护王是卒的重要职责。
经过数年的努力，他的研究计划终于卒成。
在古代战争中，车、马、卒各司其职。
参军数年，他终于成为一名老卒。
这部小说以主角的暴卒作为结局，令人震惊。
历史的潮流下，小人物如卒子般无法主宰自己的命运。