<div class="s-table-container">
<table class="s-table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: center;">時期<br>字體</th>
<th style="text-align: center;">字形</th>
<th style="text-align: center;">參考資料</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou" rel="nofollow noreferrer">西周</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions" rel="nofollow noreferrer">金</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/2LGb1.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/2LGb1.png" alt="某" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E8%A5%BF%E5%91%A8%E7%A6%BD%E7%B0%8B/3973519" rel="nofollow noreferrer">禽簋</a><br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.net/yzjwjc/?bh=4041&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">集成4041</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period" rel="nofollow noreferrer">戰國</a>・<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楚</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">簡</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/CZDpD.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/CZDpD.png" alt="呆" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;">13<br><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%8C%85%E5%B1%B1%E6%A5%9A%E7%B0%A1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">包山楚簡</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_seal_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">篆</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/KMaKl.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/KMaKl.png" alt="槑" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&amp;file=77390&amp;page=63" rel="nofollow noreferrer">木部・古文</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuowen_Jiezi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">說文解字</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liding" rel="nofollow noreferrer">隸定</a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/wviER.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/wviER.png" alt="槑" /></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=1282" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「槑」 is a graphical corruption, then reduplication, of 「某」.</a></p>
<hr />
<p>「某」 is comprised of semantic <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=139" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「木」 (<em>picture of a tree</em>)</a> and semantic <a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=264" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「甘」</a> (<a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=39" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>picture of a mouth</em> 「口」</a> <em>with something delicious in it</em> &gt; <em>sweet</em>), indicating the original meaning <em>plum tree</em> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Baxter%E2%80%93Sagart_(2014)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Baxter-Sagart OC</a>: <strong>/*C.mˤə/</strong>, now written 「梅」). The modern meaning <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%9F%90#Definitions" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>some particular &lt;X&gt;</em></a> (<strong>/*məʔ/</strong>) is a phonetic loan (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus#Rebus_principle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">rebus borrowing</a>).</p>
<p>In the character 「槑」, 「某」 is graphically corrupted into the shape of 「呆」 (by turning 「甘」 into 「口」), then doubling the shape 「呆」 to become 「槑」.</p>
<p>The relation between 「某」 and the pronunciation <strong>méi</strong> is still fairly strong, even in modern Mandarin; for example, 「媒」 and 「煤」 are  both pronounced <strong>méi</strong>.</p>
<hr />
<p>The character 「呆」 in current circulation, pronounced <strong>dāi</strong>, is completely unrelated to the graphical corruption of 「某」 into 「呆」. <a href="https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QTAwNTIx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">「呆」 (<strong>dāi</strong>) is formed from the removal of 「亻」 from 「保」</a>, and first appears in popular literature over 1,000 years later from the graphical corruption of 「某」 into 「呆」 occurring in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">State of Chǔ</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw" rel="nofollow noreferrer">小學堂字形演變</a></li>
<li><a href="https://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">漢語多功能字庫</a></li>
<li><a href="https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">教育部異體字字典</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-04T11:33:43.307Z
 is encoded in Unicode as U+24BCF in CJK Unified Ideographs Extension B.
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-05T13:37:13.990Z
How did 呆 become the 俗字 for 獃? At a glance, the meaning and sound of 保 doesn't seem to have any connection with the word written as 獃, which we now write as 呆.
wang_xiao_ming
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-05T22:04:59.683Z
@wang_xiao_ming I think that warrants a proper question. I hope someone can answer it, because personally I don't have the resources on-hand to delve into things post-Hàn.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-04-04T00:46:20.210Z
2022-04-05T22:01:48.583Z
2022-04-05T22:01:48.583Z
dROOOze
<p>槑 is a variant character of 梅 comprised of two 呆. Both are pronounced &quot;méi&quot;, and mean &quot;plum blossom&quot; (Prunus mume). But what would the glyph origin be like? 呆, pronounced &quot;dāi&quot; and meaning &quot;stupid&quot;, lends neither phonetic nor semantic semblance to 槑.</p>
<p>My guess is that it's a pictogram of two plum bushes standing in a row next to each other. But I could also see it arising from a graphical corruption of 梅: the &quot;hat&quot; of the right 每 portion &quot;sliding off&quot; on top of the left 木 portion and morphing into 口, and the 母 alone on the right without a &quot;hat&quot; corrupting into another 呆.</p>
<p>I can't seem to find any coverage of it, at least online, so I'm asking here. (Maybe also add the correct glyph origin to the Wiktionary page of 槑 once figured out?)</p>

<glyph-origin><character-variant>
What is the glyph origin of 槑?
# What is the glyph origin of 槑?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-04-04)

槑 is a variant character of 梅 comprised of two 呆. Both are pronounced "méi", and mean "plum blossom" (Prunus mume). But what would the glyph origin be like? 呆, pronounced "dāi" and meaning "stupid", lends neither phonetic nor semantic semblance to 槑.

My guess is that it's a pictogram of two plum bushes standing in a row next to each other. But I could also see it arising from a graphical corruption of 梅: the "hat" of the right 每 portion "sliding off" on top of the left 木 portion and morphing into 口, and the 母 alone on the right without a "hat" corrupting into another 呆.

I can't seem to find any coverage of it, at least online, so I'm asking here. (Maybe also add the correct glyph origin to the Wiktionary page of 槑 once figured out?)

**Tags:** glyph-origin, character-variant


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-04-04. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

| 時期 字體 | 字形 | 參考資料 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [西周](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou) [金](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions) | [某](https://i.sstatic.net/2LGb1.png) | [禽簋](https://baike.baidu.hk/item/%E8%A5%BF%E5%91%A8%E7%A6%BD%E7%B0%8B/3973519) [集成4041](http://www.guoxuedashi.net/yzjwjc/?bh=4041&jgwfl=) |
| [戰國](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period)・[楚](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)) [簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips) | [呆](https://i.sstatic.net/CZDpD.png) | 13 [包山楚簡](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/%E5%8C%85%E5%B1%B1%E6%A5%9A%E7%B0%A1) |
| [篆](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_seal_script) | [槑](https://i.sstatic.net/KMaKl.png) | [木部・古文](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&file=77390&page=63) [說文解字](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuowen_Jiezi) |
| [隸定](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liding) | [槑](https://i.sstatic.net/wviER.png) |  |

[「槑」 is a graphical corruption, then reduplication, of 「某」.](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=1282)

---

「某」 is comprised of semantic [「木」 (*picture of a tree*)](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=139) and semantic [「甘」](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=264) ([*picture of a mouth* 「口」](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=39) *with something delicious in it* > *sweet*), indicating the original meaning *plum tree* ([Baxter-Sagart OC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Baxter%E2%80%93Sagart_(2014)): **/\*C.mˤə/**, now written 「梅」). The modern meaning [*some particular*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%9F%90#Definitions)  (**/\*məʔ/**) is a phonetic loan ([rebus borrowing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus#Rebus_principle)).

In the character 「槑」, 「某」 is graphically corrupted into the shape of 「呆」 (by turning 「甘」 into 「口」), then doubling the shape 「呆」 to become 「槑」.

The relation between 「某」 and the pronunciation **méi** is still fairly strong, even in modern Mandarin; for example, 「媒」 and 「煤」 are both pronounced **méi**.

---

The character 「呆」 in current circulation, pronounced **dāi**, is completely unrelated to the graphical corruption of 「某」 into 「呆」. [「呆」 (**dāi**) is formed from the removal of 「亻」 from 「保」](https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/variants/rbt/word_attribute.rbt?quote_code=QTAwNTIx), and first appears in popular literature over 1,000 years later from the graphical corruption of 「某」 into 「呆」 occurring in the [State of Chǔ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)).

---

**References:**

* [小學堂字形演變](https://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw)
* [漢語多功能字庫](https://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/)
* [教育部異體字字典](https://dict.variants.moe.edu.tw/)

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**:  is encoded in Unicode as U+24BCF in CJK Unified Ideographs Extension B.  
> **username_3**: How did 呆 become the 俗字 for 獃? At a glance, the meaning and sound of 保 doesn't seem to have any connection with the word written as 獃, which we now write as 呆.  
> **username_1**: @username_3 I think that warrants a proper question. I hope someone can answer it, because personally I don't have the resources on-hand to delve into things post-Hàn.  

---

