Definitions

dié old variant of 耋[dié]

Etymology

About

The character , an archaic variant of , refers to an elderly person over the age of eighty. It is formed as an ideogrammic compound: the semantic component (old, aged) sits above (to arrive, to reach), visually representing the concept of reaching an advanced stage of life. The standard form , however, uses a phonetic such as at the bottom, whereas depends purely on semantic elements to express extreme old age.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern