<p>There are <a href="http://www.zdic.net/z/20/js/795E.htm" rel="nofollow">multiple definitons for 神</a>. One of them can explain why 神经 means nerves/neurons:</p>

<blockquote>
  <ol start="4">
  <li>心思，心力，注意力：劳～。凝～。～魂颠倒。</li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

<p>That is, 神 is used to express "thought", "mental", "attention". Therefore 神经 means "thought/mental/attention pathway", which is a pretty good description of nerves/neurons.</p>

<p>As for why 神 means that as well as things like "god" and "divine", one clue comes from this divining text:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>《皇極經世》天之神棲乎日，人之神棲乎目。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It translates to roughly; "the divinity of heaven resides in the sun, the divinity of man resides in the eye." So you can see how the association between eyes, sight, gaze, attention, thought can be easily made.</p>

<p>People of many cultures have ascribed mystical properties to the eyes and sight. Shakespeare once said, paraphrased, "the eye is the window to the soul." Matthew 6:22 says "the eye is the lamp of the body." (where lamp means light) And what about the all-seeing eye, a representation of God? So the many definitions of 神 provides an interesting view of ancient human philosophy and beliefs. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-02T12:53:44.737Z
A really detailed and good explanation. Although I'm a native speaker for Chinese, I haven't thought that so profoundly.
Zack Ni
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-02T12:48:08.287Z
2016-06-02T12:48:08.287Z
congusbongus
<p>Well, each character you mentioned has multiple meanings.</p>

<p>In my opinion:</p>

<p>神 here doens't mean god but means mind/consciousness.
经 means "passing by" as you said but it's a noun here.</p>

<p>So put them together it means the pathway of mind/consciousness, which is nerve.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-02T18:02:21.747Z
2016-06-02T18:02:21.747Z
Lucius Hu
<p>I am a high school student who are curious with psychology. When I read the section on neuron, I find that the Chinese translation below is "神经". </p>

<p>I am very enthusiastic about it because it seems that "神" basically means the god and "经" has the meaning of passing by. The combination, however, seems to be unfathomable because we, human, doesn't have any god in our body. We're just individual.</p>

<p>So I wanna know the etymology and history of the word "神经"?  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-03T00:27:28.493Z
经 originally means `warp in textile` or `longitude line`, basically a vertical line. Correspondingly a horizontal line in such a scenario is called 纬, `weft in textile` or `latitude line`. The stem of human nerves is generally vertical, like paths.
ElpieKay
<meaning><etymology><characters>
What's the meaning of "神" in "神经"?
# What's the meaning of "神" in "神经"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-02)

I am a high school student who are curious with psychology. When I read the section on neuron, I find that the Chinese translation below is "神经".

I am very enthusiastic about it because it seems that "神" basically means the god and "经" has the meaning of passing by. The combination, however, seems to be unfathomable because we, human, doesn't have any god in our body. We're just individual.

So I wanna know the etymology and history of the word "神经"?

**Tags:** meaning, etymology, characters

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 经 originally means `warp in textile` or `longitude line`, basically a vertical line. Correspondingly a horizontal line in such a scenario is called 纬, `weft in textile` or `latitude line`. The stem of human nerves is generally vertical, like paths.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-06-02. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

There are [multiple definitons for 神](http://www.zdic.net/z/20/js/795E.htm). One of them can explain why 神经 means nerves/neurons:

> 4. 心思，心力，注意力：劳～。凝～。～魂颠倒。

That is, 神 is used to express "thought", "mental", "attention". Therefore 神经 means "thought/mental/attention pathway", which is a pretty good description of nerves/neurons.

As for why 神 means that as well as things like "god" and "divine", one clue comes from this divining text:

> 《皇極經世》天之神棲乎日，人之神棲乎目。

It translates to roughly; "the divinity of heaven resides in the sun, the divinity of man resides in the eye." So you can see how the association between eyes, sight, gaze, attention, thought can be easily made.

People of many cultures have ascribed mystical properties to the eyes and sight. Shakespeare once said, paraphrased, "the eye is the window to the soul." Matthew 6:22 says "the eye is the lamp of the body." (where lamp means light) And what about the all-seeing eye, a representation of God? So the many definitions of 神 provides an interesting view of ancient human philosophy and beliefs.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: A really detailed and good explanation. Although I'm a native speaker for Chinese, I haven't thought that so profoundly.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-06-02. Score: 1

Well, each character you mentioned has multiple meanings.

In my opinion:

神 here doens't mean god but means mind/consciousness.
经 means "passing by" as you said but it's a noun here.

So put them together it means the pathway of mind/consciousness, which is nerve.


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