<p>Not a very satisfying answer, but it looks like there is no consensus as to the original meaning of「己」at the moment.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.outlier-linguistics.com/products/outlier-dictionary-of-chinese-characters" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Outlier</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is not clear what the original meaning and form of 己 are. It was used in early texts as one of the Heavenly Stems (天干 tiāngān).
[Reference, p. 964]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reference:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>季旭昇，2004《說文新證》，台北：藝文印書館印行，2014年9月第二版。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reference from p. 964 of《說文新證》:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/f0cGX.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/f0cGX.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-04-30T19:07:39.113Z
2023-05-01T06:59:20.840Z
2023-05-01T06:59:20.840Z
Mou某
<blockquote>
<p>I found different opinions regarding 己's glyph origin:...</p>
<p>I also tried to look for information regarding the original meaning of 己,..</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>己</strong> 字源字形 -</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ITUAv.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ITUAv.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p><strong>己</strong> 详细解释:</p>
<p>(1) (象形.甲骨文字形，象绳曲之形.) “己”是古“纪”字，假借作“自己”用。①**本义:**丝的头绪，用以缠束丝。②自己) 自己，本人 [oneself]</p>
<p><a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%B7%B1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%B7%B1</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-01T01:35:48.087Z
2023-05-01T01:35:48.087Z
r13
<p>I understand that the current meaning of 己 is &quot;oneself&quot;, which is different to its original meaning. Now I am curious about the history of the character.</p>
<p>I found different opinions regarding 己's glyph origin:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%B7%B1&amp;oldid=71841387" rel="nofollow noreferrer">skein of silk for binding objects</a></li>
<li><a href="https://okjiten.jp/kanji974.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">three horizontal lines where a skein of thread is winded</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hanziyuan.net/#%E5%B7%B1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">loom</a></li>
</ul>
<p>I also tried to look for information regarding the original meaning of 己, and <a href="https://ichigoichina.jp/kanji/3/%E5%B7%B1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">one source</a> said it is &quot;to sort out&quot;. If that is the case, I still do not understand how an ideogram of a skein of silk/thread or loom was being used to express the meaning of &quot;to sort out&quot;.</p>
<p>This is my first post here. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! :-)</p>

<etymology><glyph-origin>
What was the glyph origin of 己? What was its original meaning?
# What was the glyph origin of 己? What was its original meaning?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-04-29)

I understand that the current meaning of 己 is "oneself", which is different to its original meaning. Now I am curious about the history of the character.

I found different opinions regarding 己's glyph origin:

* [skein of silk for binding objects](https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%B7%B1&oldid=71841387)
* [three horizontal lines where a skein of thread is winded](https://okjiten.jp/kanji974.html)
* [loom](https://hanziyuan.net/#%E5%B7%B1)

I also tried to look for information regarding the original meaning of 己, and [one source](https://ichigoichina.jp/kanji/3/%E5%B7%B1) said it is "to sort out". If that is the case, I still do not understand how an ideogram of a skein of silk/thread or loom was being used to express the meaning of "to sort out".

This is my first post here. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! :-)

**Tags:** etymology, glyph-origin


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-04-30. Score: 4

Not a very satisfying answer, but it looks like there is no consensus as to the original meaning of「己」at the moment.

[Outlier](https://www.outlier-linguistics.com/products/outlier-dictionary-of-chinese-characters)

> It is not clear what the original meaning and form of 己 are. It was used in early texts as one of the Heavenly Stems (天干 tiāngān).
> [Reference, p. 964]

The reference:

> 季旭昇，2004《說文新證》，台北：藝文印書館印行，2014年9月第二版。

The reference from p. 964 of《說文新證》:

> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/f0cGX.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/f0cGX.png)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2023-05-01. Score: 0

> I found different opinions regarding 己's glyph origin:...
>
> I also tried to look for information regarding the original meaning of 己,..

**己** 字源字形 -

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

**己** 详细解释:

(1) (象形.甲骨文字形，象绳曲之形.) “己”是古“纪”字，假借作“自己”用。①\*\*本义:\*\*丝的头绪，用以缠束丝。②自己) 自己，本人 [oneself]

<https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%B7%B1>


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