象

Alternative forms

 * In, Japanese and Korean , the middle component of 象 is written  followed by.
 * In and Vietnamese, the middle component of 象 is written  overlapped by a downward  slash and is one stroke less compared to the traditional form.

Glyph origin
- pictographic representation of an elephant. represents the trunk, represents the head, and  represents the body.

Etymology 1
This character is used to represent two semantic fields ‘elephant; tusk’ and ‘to outline; to depict; to delineate; to represent; to resemble; to map’. Both fields are found from the earliest layers of the edited literature onwards, whereas only the first meaning is amply attested in oracle bone inscriptions.

Traditionally, the two senses are treated as related, with the sense of ‘to depict; to resemble’ considered a derivative of the sense of ‘elephant’. The derivation from the ‘elephant’ meaning to the ‘likeness’ meaning is explained in Han Feizi : “Men rarely see living elephants. As they come by the skeleton of a dead elephant, they imagine its living form according to its features. Therefore it comes to pass that whatever people use for imagining the real is called 象.”

Modern etymology studies on Old Chinese have challenged this opinion.

As for the ‘elephant; tusk’ sense, this is a widely used area word in East and Southeast Asia. Literature opinions differ on the origin and immediate relationship of this Chinese word; some (e.g. ) believe the Chinese form is a loanword from a Southern language, since it is unlikely that peoples all over Southeast Asia and the Himalayan foothills would borrow a word from Northern China to denote an indigenous animal. Others believe the direction of borrowing is reversed (i.e. Tai-Kadai borrowing from Chinese), and that Chinese 象 should be compared with 🇨🇬, arising from a common, which may ultimately have an Austroasiatic origin. The second viewpoint is supported by the early attestation of this character and the archaeological findings of the historical ranges of elephants. However, Schuessler disputes that second viewpoint and links ST *glaŋ to.

See below for a tentative borrowing history of the various forms of this general area word.

Definitions



 * 1) elephant
 * 2) ivory; tusk
 * 3)  elephant (on the black side)
 * 4)  bishop
 * 5) symbol; emblem
 * 6) appearance; shape; phenomenon
 * 7)  complexion
 * 8) image; picture; portrait
 * 9) sign; indication
 * 10)  law; legislation
 * 11)  principle
 * 12)  calendar
 * 13)  to imitate; to follow the example of
 * 14)  to trace; to outline; to depict
 * 15) to resemble
 * 16)  government official that translates southern languages
 * 17)   Xiang, a commandery of Han China
 * 1) image; picture; portrait
 * 2) sign; indication
 * 3)  law; legislation
 * 4)  principle
 * 5)  calendar
 * 6)  to imitate; to follow the example of
 * 7)  to trace; to outline; to depict
 * 8) to resemble
 * 9)  government official that translates southern languages
 * 10)   Xiang, a commandery of Han China
 * 1)  to trace; to outline; to depict
 * 2) to resemble
 * 3)  government official that translates southern languages
 * 4)   Xiang, a commandery of Han China
 * 1)   Xiang, a commandery of Han China

Synonyms




Descendants
Others:
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")
 * → Proto-Monic: *ciiŋ ("elephant")

Usage notes

 * 象 was the official simplified form of only until 1986.

Etymology 1


→ →

From. Compare modern 🇨🇬 reading zoeng6.

The goon reading, so likely the initial borrowing.

Noun

 * 1) elephant

Derived terms

 * : Asian elephant
 * : African elephant
 * : Indian elephant
 * , : inlay
 * : ivory
 * : ivory tower

Etymology 2
→ →  →

From. Compare modern 🇨🇬 reading siōng or 🇨🇬 xiàng.

The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Noun

 * 1) likeness, appearance

Derived terms

 * : hieroglyphics
 * : symbol
 * : abstraction

Etymology 3
From. Cognate with, from the way that ivory also has a grain.

Noun

 * 1)  elephant

Etymology
From.

Han character

 * 1) (in compounds) elephant
 * 2) a xiangqi piece which represents an elephant
 * 3) shape; scene