Zi:西

西 [xī] west (西​面 ‘west side’; 西​方 ‘Occident’; ​大西​洋 ‘Atlantic’; 西​班​牙 ‘Spain’); ​东西 dōngxi thing; (HDZ:) ​棲: ​鸟​类​歇​宿; …; (​姓) [qī] cf. ​棲/​栖

One monosyllabic entry in The ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (namespace Ci):

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The character 西 xī ‘west’ is an old character, formerly 西 qī ‘nest’, today wr. ​棲 qī ‘nest’ among full-form characters, and ​栖 qī ‘nest’ (among simple-form characters).
    Note: Today mainly 西 xī ‘west’, birds go to nest/roost as the sun (firebird in the sky) roosts/sets in the west; the old meaning of 西 is today wr. ​栖/​棲 qī ‘(of birds) perch/roost/nest’, cf. ​栖.
    The Shuōwén Seal form of 西(​㢴​𧟢) qī/xī ‘nest/west’ is said to depict a ​乃(​𠄎​𠄕) nǎi ‘roosting/brooding bird’ (or nestlings) sitting on/in its ​囪 ‘nest’ (of eggs/hatchlings; cf. ​䙴); formerly also wr. ​卥, ​卤, and later ​棲, today wr. ​栖 qī ‘nest’ (among simple-form characters).
    Compare: ​拪(​𢰕​𨙞​遷​𦦒​䙲) qiān ‘climb (to get a nest/egg)’ (cf. ​䙴); ​囟(​𦥓) xìn ‘fontanelle’ (cf. ​思); cf. ​讯/​訊(​𧨼).
    “[西] Image of a bird sitting on its nest ... the West, for the birds go to roost when the sun is setting” —Wieger.
    Compare: ​巢(​𤔥) cháo ‘nest’ (SW: bird in a tree), in which ​𦥑 or ​臼 represent the nest (cf. ​𤔥, ​孚), and ​巛 ‘nestlings/hatchlings’ (​𠄕); ​昔(​㫺) xī ‘past’.
    Note: The top of the Seal ​㢴 is like ​乃(​𢎜​𠄎​𠄕) nǎi ‘nestlings/hatchlings’, or ​𡆳 yún ‘clouds’ (in the west); the bottom is like ​囪(​𡆧) cōng ‘vent/chimney’ (setting sun as dying ember), or ​囪 ‘nest’, cf. ​䙴(​𠨧) qiān ‘climb high’ (after a bird's nest/egg); cf. ​东/​東 dōng ‘east’, in which also ​木 ‘tree’ (as in ​棲), but with ​日 rì ‘sun’.
    Compare: ​煙(​𤏯) yān ‘smoke’, ​烟 yān ‘smoke’; ​垔(​𡍯) yīn ‘block up’ (with smoke/soot); ​禋(​𥛿​𥛡) yīn ‘(anc.) fire sacrifice’.
    Compare: ​襾 yà, 西(​㢴) xī, ​𠧪, wr. as ​覀 when used as a component (in other cases ​覀 stands for something else entirely).
    Compare: ​賈, ​垔(​𡍯), ​栗(​㮚), ​票(​𤐫), ​要(​𦥺).
    Note: For usage in the compound ​东西 dōngxi ‘things’, see ​东(​東) dōng ‘east’.
    HDZ: 西 : xī : ​棲: ​鸟​类​歇​宿; (​方​向​名) ​太​阳​落​下​的​一​方 (ant. ​东); ​向西, ​往西; (​古) 西​边​的​𨙽/​邻​国; 西​洋, 西​洋​的 (西​服, ​泰西); (​佛​教) 西​天; (​国​名) 西​班​牙; (​古​县​名); (​姓)
►references: Guǎngyùn:090.12; Wieger:41c,41d; Henshall:152; Karlgren:AD776,GSR594a; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:4.2805.2; Mathews:2460; Kāngxī Zìdiǎn:1128.10; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:024.1.10; Wáng(1993):59; EDOC:1
►components: ​一​儿​囗
►Cantonese: sai\
►stroke 西 (... strokes)   
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Unicode: U+897F
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