Dong Chinese dictionary

dài, lì

subservient

Original meaning:

catch from behind

Depicts a hand (又) grabbing a tail (尾) from behind. Based on the original meaning "catch from behind", now written as 逮. In simplified Chinese 隶 is also used to mean "subservient", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 隸.

Components

又 Iconic component

yòu

(hand), again

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

尾 Iconic component

wěi, yǐ

tail

Derived from the pictographic form of 尾 (tail).

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

Evolution