Dong Chinese dictionary

sì

indulge

Original meaning:

kill domestic animals and display them

Depicts a hand restraining a domestic animal (㣇) by holding its tail (隶). 㣇 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "kill domestic animals and display them". The meaning later shifted to "shop", "wanton", "unrestrained", and "indulge".

Components

㣇 Sound Iconic component

yì

a kind of beast with long hair

Depicts a wild animal. Modern form looks like 镸.

肆 and 㣇 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 㣇 than it was in ancient scripts.

隶 Iconic component

dài, lì

subservient

Depicts a hand (又) grabbing a tail (尾). Modern form looks like 聿.

Evolution