“柲”字考

A Study of the Chacracter Bi(柲)

"柲"在甲骨、金文及战国竹简中写作"必",其初文为戈戟之柄的象形,本义是"戈戟等武器的柄"。其在甲骨、金文中都可作为本义使用,除此还可表示"戒敕之意、地名、人名"等。西周时期假借为表示"必然"义的副词并逐渐成为主要义项,后遂为"必"本义另造新字"柲",推测后起字"柲"应出现于战国时期。

Bi （柲） was written as Bi （必） in oracle bone inscriptions and Bronze inscriptions. It was a hieroglyphic character and its original meaning was the handle of weapons, which was the meaning of Bi （必） in bone inscriptions and bronzeinscriptions. Besides, Bi（必 ） also has the meaning of warning, name of place, name of person, etc. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, Bi（必）was used as an adverbial word meaning ＂being inevitable＂, which gradually became the main meaning of Bi （ 必 ）. After that, a new character Bi（ 柲 ） was invented. Therefore, it＇s inferred that the character Bi （柲）appeared during the period of Warring States.