Zi:今

今 [jīn] now, this; 今​天 today; 今​年 this year; ​如今 nowadays; ​古今 ancient and modern

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

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The Shuōwén Seal form of 今 jīn ‘now/present’ is said to combine ​亼 jí ‘together’ with the stroke ​乁 which is an old form of ​及 jí ‘reach/attain’: the present time (actual/real/true time) is ​乁 attained at the ​亼 juncture/confluence of the three times (the present is in between past and future).
    Compare: ​饮/​飲/​㱃(​𨡳) yǐn ‘drink’, formerly wr. ​𣲎, ​𩚕/​𩚜, in which 今 jīn (phonosemantic); the top of ​𣲎 suggests a ​人 rén ‘person’ stooping down to drink; cf. ​临/​臨 lín ‘stoop’ (䷒).
    Compare: ​含 hán ‘hold/keep sth. in the mouth’; ​函(​圅) hán ‘contain’.
    Compare: ​金 jīn ‘gold’; ​阴/​陰(​侌​𠆭) yīn ‘dark/shady’ (⚋); ​禽 qín ‘bird’.
    Compare: ​令 lìng, ​命 mìng ‘order/command’ (​命​令).
    Old forms of 今 are sometimes associated with ​令 lìng (as in ​鈴 ‘bell’; cf. ​玎​玲 ‘tinkling of bells’); chiming/ringing bells are assoc. with time-keeping (watchmen), the tinkle of a bell is a striking representation of the present instant (HDZ).
    Note: An OC consonant cluster “C-r-” is reconstructed for ​令 (Baxter, 1992); cf. ​鈴/​玲; ​鳴, ​命, ​名/​銘.
    HDZ: 今 : jīn : (​甲​金) ​象​铃​有​钮​有​舌​之​形 (​钮: ‘hole/hook’; ​舌: ‘clapper’); ​现​在; ​现​代; ​即, ​立​刻; (​代​词) ​此, ​这; (​连​词) ​若, ​假​如; (​姓)
►references: Guǎngyùn:220.01; Wieger:14k; Henshall:125; Karlgren:AD386,GSR651a; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:1.105.5; Mathews:1053; Kāngxī Zìdiǎn:91.18; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:009.0.05; Wáng(1993):162; EDOC:1
►components: ​亼​乛​​人​丶​乁
►Cantonese: gam\
►stroke 今 (... strokes)   
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Unicode: U+4ECA
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