说“介”

Explanation of “Jie(介)”

关于"介"字的本义,已有多种意见而莫衷一是。"介"字从人、从八,"人"处"八"之间,是会意字,这种构形思路与训"介"为间的故训相符。而"介"的分离、边际、侧畔、临近、副辅、独特诸义皆由间义引申而来。"介"又与"间"读音相近,意义相通,二者是同源词。从"介"得声的"界""■""衸"等字,意义均与居中、间隔相关。字形、字义、字音以及同源孳乳多方面的综合考察,其结果表明"介"的本义应训间,为居中、间隔之义。

There are some different interpretations of the original meaning of the character ＂Jie（介）＂, and it is hard to decide which one is the best. ＂Jie（介）＂ is made of ＂Ren（人）＂ and ＂Ba（八）＇＇, with the former between the latter, which is in accord with the existing view that ＂Jie（介）＂ means middling and seperating. The derived meanings of ＂Jie（介）＂ such as cuting, boundary, beside, approaching, assisting, and solitude, all come from this meaning. Besides, ＂Jie（介）＂ and ＂Jian（间）＂ are cognates because they are pronounced similarly, and have the same meaning. ＂Jie（介）＂ ＂Xie（[門介]）＂ and ＂Jie（衸）＂ have the same phonetic component, ＂Jie（介）＂, and its different meanings are all connected with middling and seperating. The result of a comprehensive investigation from various aspects, such as character form, meaning, pronunciation and cognate, indicates that ＂Jie（介）＂ should be explained as ＂Jian（间）＂, of which original meaning is middling and seperating.