<p>Note that in today's Putonghua 荷 meaning &quot;lotus&quot; is hé (the 2nd tone) and meaning &quot;carry&quot; is hè (the 4th tone).</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Jmc7J.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Jmc7J.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>字源 (the image above) and a couple of other dictionaries say that the verb meaning &quot;carry&quot; was originally written as 何. Later 何 was borrowed to write the word meaning &quot;what&quot;, so the written form of the verb meaning &quot;carry&quot; was changed into 荷 to avoid confusion.
So it is a chain of borrowing!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-13T22:41:38.007Z
I always have trouble with tones!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-13T14:41:09.183Z
2020-10-13T14:41:09.183Z
Betty
<p><strong>Outlier</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>2 ○ to shoulder a burden [originally written 何]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here the ○ icon is an indicator of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification#Rebus_(phonetic_loan)_characters" rel="nofollow noreferrer">phonetic loan</a>. So, basically it is just a:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>character that is &quot;borrowed&quot; to write another homophonous or near-homophonous morpheme</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-13T13:44:18.537Z
核 in 核對 doesn't mean pit; 花 in 花費 doesn't mean flower. Maybe they are phonetic loan too
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-13T10:50:33.417Z
2020-10-13T10:50:33.417Z
Mou某
<p>Reading a little about 'dark matter': 暗物质是宇宙的重要组成部分，它是一种比电子和光子还要小的物质，不带电荷， ....</p>
<p>I read: 不带电荷：doesn't carry an electric lotus! (Maybe that's why it's dark!!)</p>
<p>电荷： electrical charge, literally probably: electricity carry or hold</p>
<p>Apparently 荷 meant lotus first：Original meaning 本义: Meaning lotus.</p>
<p>One meaning of 荷 from zdic.net</p>
<p>(8) 荷：拿，持 [hold]。如:荷杖(拄着拐杖)</p>
<p>Maybe 荷 got this meaning of 'hold, carry' because the Buddha is often pictured sitting on a lotus?</p>
<p>How did this meaning arise?</p>

<meaning><etymology>
How did lotus come to mean hold or carry?
# How did lotus come to mean hold or carry?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-10-13)

Reading a little about 'dark matter': 暗物质是宇宙的重要组成部分，它是一种比电子和光子还要小的物质，不带电荷， ....

I read: 不带电荷：doesn't carry an electric lotus! (Maybe that's why it's dark!!)

电荷： electrical charge, literally probably: electricity carry or hold

Apparently 荷 meant lotus first：Original meaning 本义: Meaning lotus.

One meaning of 荷 from zdic.net

(8) 荷：拿，持 [hold]。如:荷杖(拄着拐杖)

Maybe 荷 got this meaning of 'hold, carry' because the Buddha is often pictured sitting on a lotus?

How did this meaning arise?

**Tags:** meaning, etymology


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-10-13. Score: 7

Note that in today's Putonghua 荷 meaning "lotus" is hé (the 2nd tone) and meaning "carry" is hè (the 4th tone).

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/Jmc7J.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/Jmc7J.png)

字源 (the image above) and a couple of other dictionaries say that the verb meaning "carry" was originally written as 何. Later 何 was borrowed to write the word meaning "what", so the written form of the verb meaning "carry" was changed into 荷 to avoid confusion.
So it is a chain of borrowing!

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I always have trouble with tones!  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-10-13. Score: 3

**Outlier**

> 2 ○ to shoulder a burden [originally written 何]

Here the ○ icon is an indicator of a [phonetic loan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_character_classification#Rebus_(phonetic_loan)_characters). So, basically it is just a:

> character that is "borrowed" to write another homophonous or near-homophonous morpheme

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: 核 in 核對 doesn't mean pit; 花 in 花費 doesn't mean flower. Maybe they are phonetic loan too  

---

