<blockquote>
<p>The 4 elements of this kanji are well known (claw/plectrum; net; north-east; short measurement)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Unfortunately, this way of interpreting Chinese character components is not correct. As part of other characters, for the vast majority of the time, character components represent either meaning or sound of the word they <strong>originally were created for</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>「爪・爫」and「寸」are both pictures of hands (see <a href="https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65190/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-radical-%e6%89%8b-as-a-part-of-character">https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65190/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-radical-%e6%89%8b-as-a-part-of-character</a>);</p>
</li>
<li><p>「罒」only means <em>net</em> when it is an abbreviation of「网」(and since you haven't established that「爵」has had the same character components and structure since its inception, you can't make any assumptions about the character components);</p>
</li>
<li><p>「艮」doesn't mean <em>north-east</em>; in this case it is an abbreviation of「皀」which is a picture of a food basket and forms the bottom part of「食」(<em>to eat</em>); see <a href="https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65804/what-is-the-etymology-of-the-kanji-%e9%a3%9f">https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65804/what-is-the-etymology-of-the-kanji-%e9%a3%9f</a>. The abbreviation of「皀」into「艮」has a different origin to「艮」itself.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Not that any of this matters for this particular character, because every component you've listed (apart from arguably「寸」) is a result of graphical corruption.</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/XXOJs.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/XXOJs.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty" rel="noreferrer">商</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone_script" rel="noreferrer">甲</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/TGFiA.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/TGFiA.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br><a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="noreferrer">乙</a>4508<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=22067&amp;jgwfl=" rel="noreferrer">合集22067</a></kbd><kbd>商<br>甲<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/HjfmE.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/HjfmE.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br><a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="noreferrer">前</a>5.5.2<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=3409&amp;jgwfl=" rel="noreferrer">合集3409</a></kbd><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou" rel="noreferrer">西周</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions" rel="noreferrer">金</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/5Bzd7.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/5Bzd7.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br>爵父癸卣蓋<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=4988&amp;jgwfl=" rel="noreferrer">集成4988</a></kbd></p>
<p>「爵」was originally a picture of an alcohol vessel. As seen in the top two illustrations, the vessel was of various shapes, sometimes with three legs, sometimes with a few columns near the top, and sometimes with a long handle. This is reflected in the character shape variations.</p>
<p><kbd>西周<br>金<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1WYGi.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1WYGi.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br>伯公父勺<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=9935&amp;jgwfl=" rel="noreferrer">集成9935</a></kbd><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty" rel="noreferrer">秦</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips" rel="noreferrer">簡</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/uNFV5.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/uNFV5.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br>秦律雜抄37<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts" rel="noreferrer">睡虎地秦簡</a></kbd><kbd>今<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script" rel="noreferrer">楷</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/zCz23.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zCz23.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br><br>　</kbd></p>
<p>Keeping the columns and the handle,</p>
<ul>
<li>The body and legs of the character were later semantically corrupted into or replaced with「鬯」, then corrupted into「皀」and finally abbreviated into「艮」.</li>
<li>The handle was later replaced with「又」, then「寸」.</li>
<li>The columns near the top were corrupted into「爪・爫」.</li>
<li>The area near the mouth of the vessel was corrupted into「罒」.</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>「鬯」depicts another kind of wine vessel.</p>
<p><kbd>商<br>甲<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/SNJk2.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/SNJk2.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br><a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/JiaguwenReference" rel="noreferrer">京都1264</a><br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&amp;bh=23127&amp;jgwfl=" rel="noreferrer">合集23127</a></kbd><kbd>西周<br>金<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/QEnHb.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/QEnHb.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br>夨令方彝<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=9901&amp;jgwfl=" rel="noreferrer">集成9901</a></kbd><kbd><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_seal_script" rel="noreferrer">篆</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Gv8D1.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Gv8D1.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br><a href="https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&amp;file=77390&amp;page=41" rel="noreferrer">鬯部</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuowen_Jiezi" rel="noreferrer">說文解字</a></kbd><kbd>今<br>楷<br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/98H96.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/98H96.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a><br><br>　</kbd></p>
</blockquote>
<p>The meaning to do with <em>feudal title of an official</em> (&quot;baron&quot;) is either a phonetic loan or semantic extension (wine ceremonies were usually conducted by people who can afford them, most commonly officials).</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>References:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>季旭昇《說文新證》</li>
<li><a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/" rel="noreferrer">小學堂</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/" rel="noreferrer">國學大師</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/" rel="noreferrer">郭沫若《甲骨文合集》</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/" rel="noreferrer">中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://ctext.org/" rel="noreferrer">中國哲學書電子化計劃</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&amp;res=77351" rel="noreferrer">宋・徐鉉等奉敕校定　漢・許慎《說文解字》</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-25T10:55:27.370Z
I didn't expect to receive such a thorough clarification so quickly.  艮 is given as 'north-east' in a wiki on chinese kangxi.  I am familiar with 鬯 which appears in the Japanese kanji for 'depression, gloom'.  I will look through the links you have given and get back if I find anything of real interest.  Thank you.
murlin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-25T10:59:06.910Z
@murlin Best of luck in your character studies.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-29T16:58:36.480Z
艮 as northeast comes from the 八卦
Michaelyus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-29T20:32:55.743Z
@Michaelyus ahh! In that case it would be mixing up two unrelated characters.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-25T10:35:40.863Z
2019-07-29T20:37:05.257Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
dROOOze
<p>The 4 elements of this character are well known (claw/plectrum; net; north-east; short measurement), but I cannot see any connection between them that might result in the concept of 'baron'.  Can anyone shed some light on this mystery?</p>

<etymology><glyph-origin>
Meaning of the elements of 爵 (baron)
# Meaning of the elements of 爵 (baron)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-07-25)

The 4 elements of this character are well known (claw/plectrum; net; north-east; short measurement), but I cannot see any connection between them that might result in the concept of 'baron'. Can anyone shed some light on this mystery?

**Tags:** etymology, glyph-origin


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-07-25. Score: 12 | Accepted answer

> The 4 elements of this kanji are well known (claw/plectrum; net; north-east; short measurement)

Unfortunately, this way of interpreting Chinese character components is not correct. As part of other characters, for the vast majority of the time, character components represent either meaning or sound of the word they **originally were created for**.

* 「爪・爫」and「寸」are both pictures of hands (see <https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65190/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-radical-%e6%89%8b-as-a-part-of-character>);
* 「罒」only means *net* when it is an abbreviation of「网」(and since you haven't established that「爵」has had the same character components and structure since its inception, you can't make any assumptions about the character components);
* 「艮」doesn't mean *north-east*; in this case it is an abbreviation of「皀」which is a picture of a food basket and forms the bottom part of「食」(*to eat*); see <https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65804/what-is-the-etymology-of-the-kanji-%e9%a3%9f>. The abbreviation of「皀」into「艮」has a different origin to「艮」itself.

Not that any of this matters for this particular character, because every component you've listed (apart from arguably「寸」) is a result of graphical corruption.

---

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/XXOJs.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/XXOJs.png)

`商  
甲  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/TGFiA.png)  
乙4508  
合集22067``商  
甲  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/HjfmE.png)  
前5.5.2  
合集3409``西周  
金  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/5Bzd7.png)  
爵父癸卣蓋  
集成4988`

「爵」was originally a picture of an alcohol vessel. As seen in the top two illustrations, the vessel was of various shapes, sometimes with three legs, sometimes with a few columns near the top, and sometimes with a long handle. This is reflected in the character shape variations.

`西周  
金  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/1WYGi.png)  
伯公父勺  
集成9935``秦  
簡  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/uNFV5.png)  
秦律雜抄37  
睡虎地秦簡``今  
楷  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/zCz23.png)`

Keeping the columns and the handle,

* The body and legs of the character were later semantically corrupted into or replaced with「鬯」, then corrupted into「皀」and finally abbreviated into「艮」.
* The handle was later replaced with「又」, then「寸」.
* The columns near the top were corrupted into「爪・爫」.
* The area near the mouth of the vessel was corrupted into「罒」.

> 「鬯」depicts another kind of wine vessel.
>
> `商  
> 甲  
> ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/SNJk2.png)  
> 京都1264  
> 合集23127``西周  
> 金  
> ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/QEnHb.png)  
> 夨令方彝  
> 集成9901` `篆  
> ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Gv8D1.png)  
> 鬯部  
> 說文解字``今  
> 楷  
> ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/98H96.png)`

The meaning to do with *feudal title of an official* ("baron") is either a phonetic loan or semantic extension (wine ceremonies were usually conducted by people who can afford them, most commonly officials).

---

**References:**

* 季旭昇《說文新證》
* [小學堂](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/)
* [國學大師](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/)
  + [郭沫若《甲骨文合集》](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/)
  + [中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/)
* [中國哲學書電子化計劃](https://ctext.org/)
  + [宋・徐鉉等奉敕校定　漢・許慎《說文解字》](https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&res=77351)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I didn't expect to receive such a thorough clarification so quickly.  艮 is given as 'north-east' in a wiki on chinese kangxi.  I am familiar with 鬯 which appears in the Japanese kanji for 'depression, gloom'.  I will look through the links you have given and get back if I find anything of real interest.  Thank you.  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Best of luck in your character studies.  
> **username_2**: 艮 as northeast comes from the 八卦  
> **username_1**: @username_2 ahh! In that case it would be mixing up two unrelated characters.  

---

