雌
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Translingual
Han character
雌 (Kangxi radical 172, 隹+6, 14 strokes, cangjie input 卜一心人土 (YMPOG), four-corner 20114, composition ⿰此隹)
References
- KangXi: page 1366, character 11
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 41998
- Dae Jaweon: page 1871, character 2
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 4098, character 18
- Unihan data for U+96CC
Chinese
simp. and trad. | 雌 |
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Glyph origin
Historical forms of the character 雌 | ||
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Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
Chu slip and silk script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
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Old Chinese | |
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些 | *saːls, *sjaːl, *seːs |
跐 | *ʔsreːʔ, *ʔseʔ, *sʰeʔ, *ʔsreʔ |
柴 | *zreː |
祡 | *zreː |
茈 | *zreː, *ʔseʔ, *ze |
眦 | *zreːs |
砦 | *zraːds |
寨 | *zraːds, *slɯːɡ |
啙 | *ʔseː, *zeːʔ, *ʔseʔ |
泚 | *sʰeːʔ, *sʰeʔ |
玼 | *sʰeːʔ, *sʰeʔ, *ze |
皉 | *sʰeːʔ |
鮆 | *zeːʔ, *ʔse |
眥 | *zeːs, *zes |
貲 | *ʔse |
髭 | *ʔse |
頾 | *ʔse |
訾 | *ʔse, *ʔseʔ |
鴜 | *ʔse, *ze |
鈭 | *ʔse, *sʰe |
姕 | *ʔse, *sʰe, *ze |
觜 | *ʔse, *ʔse, *ʔseʔ |
紫 | *ʔseʔ |
訿 | *ʔseʔ |
呰 | *ʔseʔ |
嘴 | *ʔseʔ |
雌 | *sʰe |
此 | *sʰeʔ |
佌 | *sʰeʔ, *seʔ |
庛 | *sʰes |
疵 | *ze |
骴 | *ze, *zes |
胔 | *ze, *zes |
飺 | *ze |
齜 | *ʔsre |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *sʰe) : phonetic 此 (OC *sʰeʔ) + semantic 隹.
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Definitions
雌
- (formal) female (describing animals and plants)
- 其在鳥則雄為陽雌為陰;……。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Shuoyuan, circa 1st century BCE
- Qí zài niǎo zé xióng wèi yáng cí wéi yīn;....... [Pinyin]
- Among birds, males are yang and females are yin; [...].
其在鸟则雄为阳雌为阴;……。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Usage notes
- Commonly used for animals and plants to mean "female" in academic contexts, less commonly used in non-academic contexts (use "母" instead), and not used for humans (use "女" instead). For example:
- 母雞/母鸡 ― mǔjī ― hen
- 母牛 ― mǔniú ― cow
Antonyms
- 雄 (xióng, “male”)
Compounds
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References
- “雌”, 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
Kanji
(common “Jōyō” kanji)
Readings
- Go-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
- Kan-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
- Kun: め (me, 雌, Jōyō); めす (mesu, 雌, Jōyō); めん (men, 雌)
Compounds
- 雌花 (shika)
- 雌蕊 (shizui)
- 雌性 (shisei)
- 雌伏 (shifuku)
- 雌雄 (shiyū)
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term |
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雌 |
めす Grade: S |
kun’yomi |
Alternative spelling |
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牝 |
First cited to 1867.[1]
The initial me- is the same me component seen in many terms referring to senses of "female". The final -su portion is of uncertain derivation.
The kanji as used originally in Chinese and in older Japanese with the on'yomi of shi referred more specifically to female birds. If the term mesu is much older than the 1800s, the final -su portion may be the ancient morpheme that appears in various names for types of bird, such as 烏 (karasu, “crow”) or 鶯 (uguisu, “bush warbler”).
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) めす [mèsúꜜ] (Odaka – [2])[2]
- IPA(key): [me̞sɨᵝ]
Noun
雌 • (mesu)
- a female (plant or animal)
- (vulgar) a female person; bitch
- an internal socket
Antonyms
- 雄 (osu, “male”)
Derived terms
- 雌黒豹紋 (mesugurohyōmon): the Argynnis sagana, a type of butterfly
Etymology 2
Kanji in this term |
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雌 |
め Grade: S |
kun’yomi |
Alternative spelling |
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牝 |
Appears in the Kojiki of 712 CE.[1]
From Old Japanese 女 (me, “woman”). This spelling is used exclusively for non-human contexts.
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) め [méꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
- IPA(key): [me̞]
Noun
雌 • (me)
- a female (plant or animal)
- Antonym: 雄 (o)
Derived terms
- 雌牛 (meushi)
- 雌刈萱 (megarukaya)
- 雌羊歯 (meshida)
- 雌蕊 (meshibe)
- 雌滝 (medaki)
- 雌鳥 (metori), 雌鳥 (medori)
- 雌螺子 (meneji)
- 雌花 (mebana)
Etymology 3
Kanji in this term |
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雌 |
めん Grade: S |
kun’yomi |
Alternative spelling |
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牝 |
First cited to 1839.[1]
/me no/ → /men/
From fusion of 雌 (me, “female plant or animal”) + の (no, “possessive particle”).
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) めん [mèń] (Heiban – [0])[2]
- (Tokyo) めん [méꜜǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
- IPA(key): [mẽ̞ɴ]
Noun
雌 • (men)
- a female (plant or animal)
- Antonym: 雄 (on)
Etymology 4
Kanji in this term |
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雌 |
し Grade: S |
on’yomi |
From Middle Chinese 雌 (MC t͡sʰiᴇ).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɕi]
Affix
雌 • (shi)
- female (plant or animal)
- Antonym: 雄 (yū)
- effeminate
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
Korean
Hanja
雌 • (ja) (hangeul 자, revised ja, McCune–Reischauer cha, Yale ca)
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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Old Japanese
Alternative forms
- (female animal): 牝
Etymology
Extension of 女 (me1, “woman”). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
Noun
雌 (me1) (kana め)
- female (plant or animal)
Derived terms
- 雌鳥 (me1do2ri)
Descendants
- Japanese: 雌 (め, me)
Vietnamese
Han character
雌: Hán Nôm readings: thư
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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