蛇
Meanings
CC-CEDICT
- 1.used in 委蛇[wēi yí]
- 1.variant of 蛇[shé]
- 1.snake
- 2.serpent
- 3.CL:条[tiáo]
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Wiktionary
- 1.snake; serpent (Classifier: 條／条 m c; 尾 mn)
- 2.illegal immigrant
- 3.to shirk one's duty; to be lazy on the job
- 4.straight
- 5.herpes zoster; shingles
- 6.a surname
- 7.used in 蛇蛇 (“facile (of words); calmly; leisurely”)
- 8.used in 委蛇 (wēiyí, “winding; meandering; pretending interest and sympathy”)
- 9.sir (used when addressing policemen or male schoolteachers)
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Etymology
Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *l̥ʰaːl, *ɦljaːl, *lal): semantic 虫 + phonetic 它 (OC *l̥ʰaːl). 它 was also the original pictographic form of this character. Uncertain. Various theories have been proposed: * Starostin sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lăj (“snake”), comparing this with Mizo hlai-ba (“a species of snake”) and Jingpho palai (“a species of iguana”). He also compares it to Proto-Kam-Sui *dzuːi² (“snake”). Schuessler (2007) considers these Tibeto-Burman forms to be unrelated. * Matisoff (2003) relates it to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-b/m-ruːl (“snake”), but this comparison is no longer held in STEDT. * Sagart (2005) relates it to Proto-Loloish *lay¹/² (“python”), which STEDT derives from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-lja(ŋ/k) (“python”), as well as Proto-Austronesian *bulay (“snake”). Comparison with the Austronesian form has been challenged by Orlandi (2018). * Schuessler (2007) notes similarity to Proto-Hlai *ljaːɦ (“snake”) (from Pre-Hlai *Cilaːɦ) as well as to Austronesian words, such as Rade ala (“snake”), but considers the Kra-Dai forms to be possible borrowings from Chinese. (He does not seem to address the Austronesian forms directly.) In his view, a more likely relationship is with the /-lé/ in Khmer រលេ (rɔlei, “sinuously, in a twisting or wiggling manner (as a snake swimming)”). In Old Chinese, this also provides the second syllable in 委蛇 (OC *qrol lal, “winding; compliant; graceful”). 蛇 (“the winding thing”) is then a euphemism for common Sino-Tibetan 虺 (OC *hŋlulʔ, “snake”) for taboo reasons. * Zhengzhang (2011) relates it to Proto-Austronesian *Sulaʀ (“snake”).
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Stroke order
Components
Components from cjk-decomp · MIT
Example sentences
他怕蛇。
He is afraid of snakes.
他害怕蛇。
He is afraid of snakes.
蛇誘惑了夏娃。
The serpent tempted Eve.
他一點也不怕蛇。
He's not at all afraid of snakes.
摸這條蛇安全嗎?
Is this snake safe to touch?
這條蛇是活的還是死的？
Is the snake alive or dead?
Sentences from Tatoeba · CC-BY 2.0 FR
More examples & usage (AI)
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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