元
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Translingual
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Han character
元 (Kangxi radical 10, 儿+2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 一一山 (MMU), four-corner 10211, composition ⿱一兀 or ⿱二儿)
Derived characters
References
- KangXi: page 123, character 6
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1340
- Dae Jaweon: page 258, character 3
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 264, character 6
- Unihan data for U+5143
Chinese
| simp. and trad. |
元 | |
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Glyph origin
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References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
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Characters in the same phonetic series (元) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
| Old Chinese | |
|---|---|
| 冠 | *kŋoːn, *kŋoːns |
| 莞 | *kŋoːn, *ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋroːnʔ |
| 脘 | *ŋkoːnʔ |
| 筦 | *ŋkoːnʔ |
| 梡 | *ŋ̊ʰoːnʔ, *ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋoːnʔ |
| 岏 | *ŋoːn |
| 刓 | *ŋoːn |
| 园 | *ŋoːn |
| 忨 | *ŋoːn, *ŋoːns |
| 蚖 | *ŋoːn, *ŋon |
| 黿 | *ŋoːn, *ŋon |
| 抏 | *ŋoːn |
| 玩 | *ŋoːns |
| 貦 | *ŋoːns |
| 翫 | *ŋoːns |
| 妧 | *ŋoːns |
| 完 | *ɦŋoːn |
| 捖 | *ɦŋoːn |
| 垸 | *ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋoːns |
| 綄 | *ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋoːnʔ |
| 院 | *ɦŋoːn, *ɦŋons |
| 皖 | *ɦŋoːnʔ, *ɦŋroːnʔ |
| 晥 | *ɦŋoːnʔ |
| 浣 | *ɦŋoːnʔ |
| 頑 | *ŋroːn, *ŋroːn |
| 睆 | *ɦŋroːnʔ |
| 鯇 | *ɦŋroːnʔ |
| 元 | *ŋon |
| 沅 | *ŋon |
| 芫 | *ŋon |
| 杬 | *ŋon |
| 邧 | *ŋon, *ŋonʔ |
| 阮 | *ŋon, *ŋonʔ |
| 俒 | *ɦŋuːn, *ɦŋuːns |
Pictogram (象形) – a figure with two lines 二 for a head (one connected to body, one above it), emphasizing the head.
Etymology 1
Possibly from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-gaw (“head”), with a noun-forming suffix *-n (Schuessler, 2003; STEDT). If so, cognate with 后 (OC *ɡoːʔ, “ruler; lord; queen”), Tibetan མགོ (mgo, “head; summit; beginning”), མགོན (mgon, “protector; master; lord”), Garo sko (“skull”), Northern Tujia kho⁵⁵ pa⁵⁵ (“head”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT). 原 (OC *ŋʷan, “source; origin; basic; primary”) and 黿 (OC *ŋoːn, *ŋon, “large turtle”) may be the same word (Schuessler, 2007). It may also be related to 君 (OC *klun, “lord; prince; ruler”), 尹 (OC *ɢʷlinʔ, “magistrate; governor”), 侯 (OC *ɡoː, “marquis”) (Mei, 1985).
The name of the dynasty comes from the I Ching:
- 大哉乾元，萬物資始，乃統天。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: I Ching, 11th – 8th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Dà zāi qián yuán, wànwù zī shǐ, nǎi tǒng tiān. [Pinyin]
- Vast is the ‘great and originating (power)’ indicated by Qian! All things owe to it their beginning: - it contains all the meaning belonging to (the name) heaven.
大哉干元，万物资始，乃统天。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Definitions
元
- † head
- first; primary; head; chief
- basic; fundamental
- origin; source
- Synonym: 原 (yuán)
- meta-
- Classifier for yuan or dollars.
- (mathematics) variable; unknown; element
- 消元法 ― xiāoyuánfǎ ― method of elimination (literally, “method of eliminating matrix elements”)
- 立天元一 [Classical Chinese] ― lì tiānyuán yī [Pinyin] ― Let x be the unknown variable in the equation.
- 主元 ― zhǔyuán ― pivot
- (mathematics) element (an infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential)
- (～朝) Yuan Dynasty
- 元曲 ― yuánqū ― Yuan dynasty theater
- (～日) (telegraphy) the thirteenth day of a month
- a surname
- 元好問／元好问 ― Yuán Hàowèn ― Yuan Haowen (Jin dynasty poet)
- (Taoism) kalpa, a cosmic or supreme cycle of 129,000 years
- 一元12會，共十二萬九千年，周而復始，不斷循環，值致地球毀滅 [MSC, trad.]
- Yī Yuán 12 Huì, Gòng Shí'èr Wàn Jiǔ Qiān Nián, zhōu'érfùshǐ, Bù Duàn Xúnhuán, Zhí Zhì Dìqiú Huǐmiè [Pinyin]
- Each kalpa has 12 epochs and lasts 129,000 years, repeating endlessly, each kalpa ending with the destruction of the world.
一元12会，共十二万九千年，周而复始，不断循环，值致地球毁灭 [MSC, simp.]
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 頭 (“head”) [map]
Dialectal synonyms of 元 (“yuan; dollar”) [map]
- (Taoist kalpa): l極天干
See also
Compounds
Derived terms from 元
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Etymology 2
| For pronunciation and definitions of 元 – see 圓 (“circle; circular; round; etc.”). (This character, 元, is the draft (1955) first-round simplified and second-round simplified form of 圓.) |
Notes:
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References
- “元”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database), 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
Japanese
Readings
Compounds
- 元気 (genki)
- 元凶 (genkyō)
- 元金 (gankin)
- 元号 (gengō)
- 元日 (ganjitsu)
- 元首 (genshu), 元首 (motokubi)
- 元帥 (gensui)
- 元祖 (ganso)
- 元素 (genso)
- 元旦 (gantan)
- 元朝 (ganchō), 元朝 (genchō)
- 元服 (genpuku)
- 元本 (ganpon)
- 元来 (ganrai)
- 元悪 (gen'aku)
- 元価 (genka)
- 元兇 (genkyō)
- 元勲 (genkun)
- 元軍 (gengun)
- 元元 (motomoto), 元々 (motomoto)
- 元高 (motodaka)
- 元三 (Motomi)
- 元始 (genshi)
- 元手 (motode)
- 元鞘 (motosaya)
- 元職 (genshoku)
- 元栓 (motosen)
- 元値 (motone)
- 元帳 (motochō)
- 元締 (motoji)
- 元入金 (motonyūkin)
- 元年 (gannen)
- 元標 (genpyō)
- 元方 (motokata)
- 元利 (ganri)
- 元老 (genrō)
- 元禄 (genroku)
- 元寇 (genkō)
- お手元 (otemoto), 御手元 (otemoto)
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 元 |
| もと Grade: 2 |
| kun’yomi |
| Alternative spellings |
|---|
| 本 原 基 素 |
⟨mo2to2⟩ → /moto/
From Old Japanese. Cited to the Kojiki of 712 CE.[1] From Proto-Japonic *mətə. Cognate with Okinawan 元 (mutu).
Pronunciation
Noun
元 • (moto)
Derived terms
Derived terms
- もとに (moto ni)
- 元は (moto wa)
- 元より (motoyori)
- 元売り (motouri)
- 元結い (motoyui)
- 元通り (motodōri)
Prefix
元 • (moto-)
Etymology 2
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 元 |
| げん Grade: 2 |
| kan’on |
From the Middle Chinese-derived reading of the kanji characters.
Etymology 3
From 始め (hajime, “beginning”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ha̠ʑime̞]
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
Okinawan
Compounds
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