<h1>Phonology</h1>

<p>「龖」is indeed thought to be the phonetic.</p>

<p>Since these characters were created very early on, we need to use our best guesses of the sounds of these characters when they were created to make sense of the phonetic components. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Zhengzhang_(1981%E2%80%931995)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Zhengzhang's Old Chinese reconstructions</a> gives</p>

<ul>
<li>龖: <strong>/*l'ɯːb/</strong>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Chinese" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Middle Chinese</a>: <strong>/dʌp̚/</strong>, Mandarin: <strong>/tä³⁵/</strong></li>
</ul></li>
<li>襲: <strong>/*ljɯb/</strong>

<ul>
<li>Middle Chinese: <strong>/ziɪp̚/</strong>, Mandarin: <strong>/ɕi³⁵/</strong></li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<p>Bypassing a detailed treatment of the phonology involved, a very simplified explanation is that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_of_articulation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">consonants pronounced at a similar place of articulation</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel#Articulation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">vowels articulated with similar tongue positions</a> tend to change into each other over time.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>To see the relationships between the consonants according to their different places and manner of articulation, you can view the columns and rows of the IPA table given in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet#Pulmonic_consonants" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/URfw7.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/URfw7.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/tdy1r.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/tdy1r.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
  
  <p>Please note:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li><p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatal_approximant" rel="nofollow noreferrer">palatal approximant /j/ (in <strong>/*ljɯb/</strong>) is related to the vowel /i/</a>:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p><em>The palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close front unrounded vowel [i].</em></p>
  </blockquote></li>
  <li><p>the <strong>/-p/</strong> ending (<strong>/dʌp̚/</strong>, <strong>/ziɪp̚/</strong>), in Middle Chinese is classified as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checked_tone" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>checked tone</em></a>, and this "tone" (meaning the <strong>/-p/</strong>, <strong>/-t/</strong>, and <strong>/-k/</strong> endings) has been lost in Mandarin and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checked_tone#Mandarin" rel="nofollow noreferrer">redistributed to Mandarin's four tones</a>.</p></li>
  </ul>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p><H1>Paleography and semantics</H1></p>

<p>In the modern form, the two「龍」have been reduced to one in「襲」.</p>

<p><kbd><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><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/dMvUM.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dMvUM.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br>⿹戈冬方鼎<br><a href="http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=2824&amp;jgwfl=" rel="nofollow noreferrer">集成2824</a></kbd><kbd><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty" rel="nofollow noreferrer">秦</a><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips" rel="nofollow noreferrer">簡</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/9wpf1.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/9wpf1.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br><a href="http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian/Reference/QinwenziReference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">法</a>105<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">睡虎地秦簡</a></kbd><kbd>今<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script" rel="nofollow noreferrer">楷</a><br><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/3armh.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/3armh.png" alt="enter image description here"></a><br><br>　</kbd></p>

<p>The original meaning is indeed to do with <em>fabric on clothing for dead people</em>, extended to mean <em>layer upon layer of clothing</em>, then finally <em>carry on and on; following customs, traditions</em>. This meaning is written as「沿襲」.</p>

<p>The link between <em>clothing</em> and <em>attack</em> is obscure, if any, and is more likely to be a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus#Rebus_principle" rel="nofollow noreferrer">rebus borrowing</a>.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If you must link <em>clothing</em> with <em>attack</em>, a rather far-fetched way to analyse it is through the following series of extensions (the meanings of which have actually all existed in literature):</p>
  
  <p><em>Layers upon layers of clothing</em> > <em>to hide or conceal something</em> > <em>surprise raid/attack</em> > <em>attack</em>.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-09T18:45:33.523Z
Layers upon layers of clothing --> heavily surround-->fully contact --> rush upon-->attack. surrounding someone and make  contact = attack
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-09T18:50:40.247Z
@TangHo yes, good suggestion, but I still think it's too far-fetched. I would prefer to explain it as a rebus borrowing. These meanings were first found in 春秋戰國, when China expanded far beyond 商殷中原, so it's plausible that they were borrowed from an originally non-Chinese language.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-09T19:01:35.193Z
Not as  far-fetched as words like 叟 (elderly man). The pictograph depict someone searching the house.  Since young men were outside hunting, farming or working most of the time, Only elderly men would be home when there's need to search for things in the house.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-09T19:05:05.117Z
@TangHo @@ I think that's another 通假字, 叟 originally represents the word now written as 搜...
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-09T15:50:04.333Z
2019-08-12T01:19:04.343Z
2019-08-12T01:19:04.343Z
dROOOze
<p>I am new here, recently discovered this site to learn more about glyph origins of certain characters.</p>

<p>I often see this character 袭 when related to terrorist attacks in the news. 袭 means raid or attack as far as I know.
At first I thought it was phono-semantic, like a dragon attacking, and clothes 衣 as phonetic. But zdic states that it's original meaning means grave clothes, so 衣 is the semantic here. Shuowen says the dragon is doubled 龖 and acts as the phonetic. However 龖 is dá which sounds nothing like xí. </p>

<p>Where did 袭 originate from, was it related to dragons, or clothes, or both? And if it used to mean grave clothes, how did it end up meaning raid/attack?</p>

<etymology><glyph-origin>
Etymology of glyph 袭 = dragon + clothes?
# Etymology of glyph 袭 = dragon + clothes?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-09)

I am new here, recently discovered this site to learn more about glyph origins of certain characters.

I often see this character 袭 when related to terrorist attacks in the news. 袭 means raid or attack as far as I know.
At first I thought it was phono-semantic, like a dragon attacking, and clothes 衣 as phonetic. But zdic states that it's original meaning means grave clothes, so 衣 is the semantic here. Shuowen says the dragon is doubled 龖 and acts as the phonetic. However 龖 is dá which sounds nothing like xí.

Where did 袭 originate from, was it related to dragons, or clothes, or both? And if it used to mean grave clothes, how did it end up meaning raid/attack?

**Tags:** etymology, glyph-origin


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-08-09. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

# Phonology

「龖」is indeed thought to be the phonetic.

Since these characters were created very early on, we need to use our best guesses of the sounds of these characters when they were created to make sense of the phonetic components. [Zhengzhang's Old Chinese reconstructions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructions_of_Old_Chinese#Zhengzhang_(1981%E2%80%931995)) gives

* 龖: **/\*l'ɯːb/**
  + [Middle Chinese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Chinese): **/dʌp̚/**, Mandarin: **/tä³⁵/**
* 襲: **/\*ljɯb/**
  + Middle Chinese: **/ziɪp̚/**, Mandarin: **/ɕi³⁵/**

Bypassing a detailed treatment of the phonology involved, a very simplified explanation is that [consonants pronounced at a similar place of articulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_of_articulation) and [vowels articulated with similar tongue positions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel#Articulation) tend to change into each other over time.

> To see the relationships between the consonants according to their different places and manner of articulation, you can view the columns and rows of the IPA table given in [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet#Pulmonic_consonants):
>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/URfw7.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/URfw7.png)
>
> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/tdy1r.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/tdy1r.png)
>
> Please note:
>
> * The [palatal approximant /j/ (in **/\*ljɯb/**) is related to the vowel /i/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatal_approximant):
>
>   > *The palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close front unrounded vowel [i].*
> * the **/-p/** ending (**/dʌp̚/**, **/ziɪp̚/**), in Middle Chinese is classified as a [*checked tone*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checked_tone), and this "tone" (meaning the **/-p/**, **/-t/**, and **/-k/** endings) has been lost in Mandarin and [redistributed to Mandarin's four tones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checked_tone#Mandarin).

---

# Paleography and semantics

In the modern form, the two「龍」have been reduced to one in「襲」.

`西周  
金  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/dMvUM.png)  
⿹戈冬方鼎  
集成2824``秦  
簡  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/9wpf1.png)  
法105  
睡虎地秦簡``今  
楷  
![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/3armh.png)`

The original meaning is indeed to do with *fabric on clothing for dead people*, extended to mean *layer upon layer of clothing*, then finally *carry on and on; following customs, traditions*. This meaning is written as「沿襲」.

The link between *clothing* and *attack* is obscure, if any, and is more likely to be a [rebus borrowing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus#Rebus_principle).

> If you must link *clothing* with *attack*, a rather far-fetched way to analyse it is through the following series of extensions (the meanings of which have actually all existed in literature):
>
> *Layers upon layers of clothing* > *to hide or conceal something* > *surprise raid/attack* > *attack*.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Layers upon layers of clothing --> heavily surround-->fully contact --> rush upon-->attack. surrounding someone and make  contact = attack  
> **username_1**: @username_2 yes, good suggestion, but I still think it's too far-fetched. I would prefer to explain it as a rebus borrowing. These meanings were first found in 春秋戰國, when China expanded far beyond 商殷中原, so it's plausible that they were borrowed from an originally non-Chinese language.  
> **username_2**: Not as  far-fetched as words like 叟 (elderly man). The pictograph depict someone searching the house.  Since young men were outside hunting, farming or working most of the time, Only elderly men would be home when there's need to search for things in the house.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 @@ I think that's another 通假字, 叟 originally represents the word now written as 搜...  

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