<p>凶 seems to mean fierce. <a href="http://www.zdic.net/z/15/js/51F6.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.zdic.net/z/15/js/51F6.htm</a>
勹 means wrap.</p>

<p>'wrap up something fierce' Your raging spirit??</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-17T22:34:02.057Z
2015-04-17T22:34:02.057Z
Peter Pan
<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiongnu#Ethno-linguistics" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia article</a> on the 匈奴 gives a literal translation as '<code>fierce slaves</code>'. </p>

<p>Did 匈 mean '<code>fierce</code>' in former times? What is the etymology of this character?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-18T02:25:22.323Z
FYI, `胸` means `chest/breast/thorax`, not `匈`.
Thomas Hsieh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-18T05:38:06.187Z
@ThomasHsieh Check Pleco or http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%8C%88
I hope you know the story behind 永 and 泳 to understand why 匈 means thorax/chest/breast.
imrek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-18T07:26:40.053Z
I don't really think this interpretation listed on WP is correct. "奴" could mean "lowly people", but not necessarily literally "slave" in this context. It could also just be a pure transliteration. Not to mention "匈" is also more likely a transliteration of the sound instead of "fierce", because "fierce" is "凶"
xji
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-18T13:05:51.360Z
@DrunkenMaster Thanks for the lesson! I have almost no knowledge on Chinese character etymology.
Thomas Hsieh
<meaning><characters><etymology><history><glyph-origin>
What is the original meaning of 匈 (besides "chest/breast/thorax")?
# What is the original meaning of 匈 (besides "chest/breast/thorax")?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-04-17)

The [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiongnu#Ethno-linguistics) on the 匈奴 gives a literal translation as '`fierce slaves`'.

Did 匈 mean '`fierce`' in former times? What is the etymology of this character?

**Tags:** meaning, characters, etymology, history, glyph-origin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: FYI, `胸` means `chest/breast/thorax`, not `匈`.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Check Pleco or http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%8C%88 I hope you know the story behind 永 and 泳 to understand why 匈 means thorax/chest/breast.  
> **username_2**: I don't really think this interpretation listed on WP is correct. "奴" could mean "lowly people", but not necessarily literally "slave" in this context. It could also just be a pure transliteration. Not to mention "匈" is also more likely a transliteration of the sound instead of "fierce", because "fierce" is "凶"  
> **username_1**: @DrunkenMaster Thanks for the lesson! I have almost no knowledge on Chinese character etymology.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-04-17. Score: 1

凶 seems to mean fierce. <http://www.zdic.net/z/15/js/51F6.htm>
勹 means wrap.

'wrap up something fierce' Your raging spirit??


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