480531170

2084
L1
硫
RYŪ
sulfur
12 strokes
RYŪSANsulfuric acid
iŌ*sulfur
RYŪKAGINsilver sulfide
A late, post-Shuowen graph. This graph is
defined in the Jiyun dictionary (11 th century)
in rather general terms as a ‘[type
of] rock which is not smooth’. Gu regards
the sense ‘sulfur’ as a loan use. A different
analysis takes the graph as 47 ‘stone/
rock; mineral’, combined with 㐬 ‘flow out’
(see 432 and Note below) as semantic and
phonetic, giving ‘easily melted mineral’
(Ogawa). There may however, alternatively,
be a connection through the fumes given
off when sulphur, which has quite a low
melting point, is burnt. This latter possibility
seems to be supported by a point made
by Qiu to the effect that in Chinese the
word for ‘sulfur’ was originally written
‘flowing yellow’ (< flowing fumes, and
yellow color of sulfur). The writing was
later changed to , substituting ‘rock,
mineral’ for 42 ‘water’ as determinative,
probably for semantic transparency.
Note: 㐬 originally represented a baby being
born amidst amniotic fluid, and hence the
meaning ‘flow out’. OT1968:712; QX2000:339;
GY2008:1398,1135-6; MS95:v2:778-9.
Mnemonic: SULFUR IS A ROCK THAT FLOWS,
WITHOUT WATER
2085
侶
RYO, tomo
companion, partner
L1
9 strokes
HANRYOpartner, companion
SŌRYOBuddhist priest
(no other compounds)
Seal ; a late graph (later version of
Shuowen). Consists of 41 ‘person’,
combined with 2119 (proposed meanings
include ‘spine’) as phonetic with associated
sense taken as ‘gather, be side by side’, giv-
ing ‘companion, friend’. GY2008:654,260-61;
OT1968:68; SS1984:880. We suggest taking
the right side as two mouths (speaking)
22 with a link between their comments. Or,
mouth-to-mouth contact.
Mnemonic: COMPANIONS TALKING ABOUT A
LINKED TOPIC
Or: PERSON APPLIES MOUTH-TO-MOUTH AID
TO HIS COMPANION
Or: MY COMPANION IS A PERSON WITH LOTS
OF ‘BACKBONE’
2086
L1
虜
RYO, toriko
captive, capture
13 strokes
RYOSHŪcaptive
HORYOprisoner of war
SENSEIFURYOparolee
Seal ; a late graph (Shuowen). Has 78
‘strength’, combined with 1148 ‘pierce,
penetrate’ (see Note below), with – in one
view – 1301 (‘tiger’, q.v.) as phonetic
with associated sense ‘prison’, giving ‘put
in prison; prisoner’ (Ogawa). Gu makes a
broadly similar analysis, but takes as having
a semantic as well as phonetic function
(‘violent, savage’), and originally meaning
‘take by force’, with ‘capture’ as an extended
sense. Note: OBI occurrences of ‘pierce,
penetrate’ are taken in one interpretation
as representing a shield, or alternatively as
shells (shell currency) pierced and strung
together on a length of string (both given in
Mizukami). It might be tempting to take the
line through the shield as indicating ‘pierce
a shield’, but in all cases the line is horizontal
or vertical in relation to the shield,
626 The Remaining 1130 Characters