“臤”“賢”二字的意义关系窥探

A Probe into the Relation of the Meaning of "臤" and "賢"

古书从“臤”之字与牵、坚两类意义相关,应为本义与假借义之别。“臤”本义为牵引义,《说文》释为假借义。上古语词[賢]①有四个义位:坚贝、坚、多财和贤德,多借“臤”字形表示。“臤”与“賢”古音相近,假借通用现象频繁。

In the ancient books,the character“臤”is related to the two types of meanings:traction and firm,which should be different from the original meaning and the meaning of borrowing.The original meaning of“臤”is traction,and it is interpreted by"Shuo Wen"as a meaning of borrowing.The ancient Chinese word[賢]has four meanings:hard shell,hard,rich,and virtuous,which are often expressed by the shape of“臤”.The ancient sounds of“臤”and“賢”are similar,so the phenomenon of borrowing and interworking is frequent.