Zi:元
元 [yuán] original, primary; 元素 chemical element; 美元 U.S. dollar; 日元 Japanese yen; 元音 vowel; 元代 (1279-1368); (HDZ:) …
2 monosyllabic entries in The ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (namespace Ci):
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The Shuōwén Seal form of 元 yuán ‘(head/top) beginning/primary/primitive’ puts a single horizontal stroke 一 yī ‘one’ (prime/primal) atop 兀 wù ‘towering/extraordinary’ (phonosemantic).
Note: The top of 元 is not 𠄞/上 but rather, another 一 is added atop 兀; the old meaning of 元 is given as 首 ‘head’ (尔雅; cf. 頭), extended to ‘head/beginning/primary’; 兀 is said to be synonymous with its compound 元 (HDZ).
Compare: 顽/頑 wán ‘headstrong/obstinate/blockhead’; 頑/䪲/髡(髨) kūn ‘shave the head (bald)’ (秃 ‘bald’).
Compare: 冠 guān ‘ceremonial/formal/official hat/cap’, in which 元 yuán ‘head’ (phonosemantic).
Compare: 寇(𡨥) kòu ‘plunder’; 完 wán ‘complete/intact; guard/keep’.
Note: The top of 元 is not 𠄞(丄上) shàng ‘up/top’, nor is it 二 ‘two’; rather, a second 一 ‘one’ is added on top of 兀; but 一 itself is sometimes used as an abbrev. of 𠄞(丄上) ‘up/top’ (examples below); and so it might be said that the top of 元 has two copies of 上 abbrev., for the very tip-top of the top.
Compare: 天 tiān; 帝(𢂇) dì; 不(𠀚) bù; 示(𥘅) shì; in all of these, 一 is short for 𠄞(丄上) shàng ‘up/top’.
“[元] Probably etymologically the same word as 原” —Karlgren(AD).
Compare: 原(𠫐) yuán ‘river source’, now wr. 源 (水源 ‘headwaters’); 元/原/源 were MC/OC homophones (SBGY/GSR), but are distinguished in OC (Baxter).
Note: Meanings relating to money (‘dollar’ and 円 ‘yen’) derive from 圆 yuán ‘round’ (银圆/元 ‘silver dollar’).
Compare: 园/園 yuán ‘garden’ (花园).
HDZ: 元 : yuán : (尔雅) 首: 人头 (cf. 冠); 长 (zhǎng), 为首的 (元首, 状元, 元凶); (SW: 始) 始, 第一 (元年, 元月, 元日); (哲学) 天地万物的本原 (一元论; 元极: 万物的本原, 天); 原: 本, 原来; 大; 善; 基本的 (元素); (古) (单位) 历法 (三统历) 计算单位 (4617 岁为一元); (数学) (一元一次方程式, 二元一次方程式); 货币 (银元, 一元二角) (cf. 圓, 圜); (清) (避) 玄 (元/玄色, 元/玄妙); 頑 (wán); (朝代名); (姓)
►references: Guǎngyùn:113.01; Wieger:29h; Karlgren:AD1337,GSR257a; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:1.264.6; Mathews:7707; Kāngxī Zìdiǎn:123.06; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:005.0.10; Wáng(1993):2; EDOC:1
►components: 一兀二儿
►Cantonese: yuhn\
<cdl char='元' uni='5143' points='0,8 128,128' radical='Z2 K7'>
<comp char='二' uni='4E8C' points='6,0 122,42' />
<comp char='儿' uni='513F' variant='6' points='0,42 128,128' />
</cdl>
<cdl char='二' uni='4E8C' points='0,18 128,112' radical='K1D1'>
<stroke type='h' points='16,0 112,0' />
<stroke type='h' points='0,128 128,128' />
<!-- 2012-07-01T00:04:16Z -->
</cdl>
<cdl char='儿' uni='513F' variant='6' points='0,42 128,128' radical='K0'>
<stroke type='wp' points='46,0 0,128' head='cut' tail='long' />
<stroke type='swg' points='82,0 82,81 95,114 128,114 128,52' head='cut' />
<!-- variant based on [U+E7CF](V=0) -->
</cdl>
►stroke 元 (... strokes)
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Unicode: U+5143
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