<p>李学勤《字源》 says:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/B5mFj.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/B5mFj.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>谷衍奎《汉字源流字典》 says:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/9jlnP.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/9jlnP.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>According to them, 涼 was the standard form and 凉 was the vernacular form with the same meanings. The People's Republic of China prescribed that 凉 should be the standard form and 涼 should be the obsolete variation form (异体字).</p>
<p>In Taiwan, 涼 is still the standard form and 凉 is 异体字. See 重編國語辭典修訂本: <a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=W00000064957" rel="nofollow noreferrer">凉</a> <a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&amp;searchid=W00000003670" rel="nofollow noreferrer">涼</a></p>
<p>According to the same sources, 凄 has a similar story but is a little more complicated, because PRC prescribed that 凄 should be the standard form for both 淒 and 悽. This also did not happen in Taiwan (you can't even find 凄 in 重編國語辭典修訂本).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-25T23:41:18.083Z
2020-08-26T00:23:10.827Z
2020-08-26T00:23:10.827Z
Betty
<p>「涼」 and 「凉」 are thought to have different origins, and are different characters altogether. From 《洪武正韻牋》:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>本有凉涼二字，从冫者寒凉之凉，从氵涼德涼踽之涼。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both these characters can be used for the meaning <em>cold</em>, but that was not the original meaning of 「涼」. 「涼」 was originally a type of light wine, and this usage can be seen in historical texts. From 《周禮‧天官‧漿人》：</p>
<blockquote>
<p>掌共王之六飲：水、漿、醴、<strong>涼</strong>、醫、酏。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I had some more difficulty finding the origin of 「凉」. Websites like 小學堂 and 漢語多功能字庫 did not have entries for it either. According to this <a href="https://jonathanovsky.wordpress.com/2017/11/01/%E3%80%8C%E5%87%89%E3%80%8D%E4%B8%8D%E6%98%AF%E3%80%8C%E6%B6%BC%E3%80%8D%E7%9A%84%E7%B0%A1%E9%AB%94/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">blog post</a>, 「凉」 was a place name.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>「凉」字則是地名，即是漢代十三刺史部的凉州，在今日甘肅省及寧夏全境、青海東北部、新疆東南部及內蒙古阿拉善盟一帶。「凉」字从仌的原因，相信是因為當地天氣比較寒冷，所謂兩點水的仌，即冰之本字，寒凉之凉為引伸義。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But when searching for 「凉州」, sources in Traditional Chinese tend to render it as 「涼州」, which leads me to question the claim that 「凉」 was originally a place name.</p>
<hr />
<ol>
<li>What is the glyph origin of 「凉」?</li>
<li>How did 「涼」 gain overlapping meanings with 「凉」?</li>
<li>Do 「淒」 and 「凄」 share a similar relation to 「涼」 and 「凉」?</li>
</ol>

<glyph-origin>
Glyph origin of 「凉」 and its relation with 「涼」
# Glyph origin of 「凉」 and its relation with 「涼」

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-25)

「涼」 and 「凉」 are thought to have different origins, and are different characters altogether. From 《洪武正韻牋》:

> 本有凉涼二字，从冫者寒凉之凉，从氵涼德涼踽之涼。

Both these characters can be used for the meaning *cold*, but that was not the original meaning of 「涼」. 「涼」 was originally a type of light wine, and this usage can be seen in historical texts. From 《周禮‧天官‧漿人》：

> 掌共王之六飲：水、漿、醴、**涼**、醫、酏。

I had some more difficulty finding the origin of 「凉」. Websites like 小學堂 and 漢語多功能字庫 did not have entries for it either. According to this [blog post](https://jonathanovsky.wordpress.com/2017/11/01/%E3%80%8C%E5%87%89%E3%80%8D%E4%B8%8D%E6%98%AF%E3%80%8C%E6%B6%BC%E3%80%8D%E7%9A%84%E7%B0%A1%E9%AB%94/), 「凉」 was a place name.

> 「凉」字則是地名，即是漢代十三刺史部的凉州，在今日甘肅省及寧夏全境、青海東北部、新疆東南部及內蒙古阿拉善盟一帶。「凉」字从仌的原因，相信是因為當地天氣比較寒冷，所謂兩點水的仌，即冰之本字，寒凉之凉為引伸義。

But when searching for 「凉州」, sources in Traditional Chinese tend to render it as 「涼州」, which leads me to question the claim that 「凉」 was originally a place name.

---

1. What is the glyph origin of 「凉」?
2. How did 「涼」 gain overlapping meanings with 「凉」?
3. Do 「淒」 and 「凄」 share a similar relation to 「涼」 and 「凉」?

**Tags:** glyph-origin


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-25. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

李学勤《字源》 says:
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/B5mFj.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/B5mFj.png)

谷衍奎《汉字源流字典》 says:
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/9jlnP.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/9jlnP.png)

According to them, 涼 was the standard form and 凉 was the vernacular form with the same meanings. The People's Republic of China prescribed that 凉 should be the standard form and 涼 should be the obsolete variation form (异体字).

In Taiwan, 涼 is still the standard form and 凉 is 异体字. See 重編國語辭典修訂本: [凉](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=W00000064957) [涼](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=W00000003670)

According to the same sources, 凄 has a similar story but is a little more complicated, because PRC prescribed that 凄 should be the standard form for both 淒 and 悽. This also did not happen in Taiwan (you can't even find 凄 in 重編國語辭典修訂本).


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