浅谈"慢"常用义之演变

On the Evolution of the Lexical Uses of the Chinese Word “慢”

通过穷尽调查法及历史比较法对"慢"在不同时代义项分布及发展情况进行探讨后,得出结论为:1.唐以前,傲慢、怠慢是常用义项,而且,这2个义项在唐、宋书面色彩较浓的作品中仍占优势;其后使用范围缩小,频率渐低;到了清代,这一义项基本趋于消亡。2."缓慢"义产生虽早,但真正得以较多的应用是在唐代,至宋代其口语色彩尤其鲜明;元代,这一义项的使用频率已居主导地位,成为其常用义,一直沿用至今。

Through an exhaustive survey and historical comparison of the distribution and development of the routine lexical uses of the Chinese word “慢”in different period of time, the author of this paper reaches the following conclusion: Firstly, the phases such as “傲慢”,“怠慢”were frequently used before the Tang Dynasty, and was also much seen in literary works during the Tang and Song dynasties. However, the word was used in an increasingly smaller range and lower frequency until it virtually disappeared when it came to the Qing dynasty. Secondly, though coined in earlier age, the word was not of in any substantial use until the Tang dynasty, and it became more colloquial only since the Song dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, the word began to be used so often that it became a common word, as it is of the present age.