Zi:於

From Wenlin Dictionaries

[] (S​) in, at, to, from, by, than [] (surname) Yū [] (​) ​ crow (bird); (​) wow/alas!; (HDZ:) … [] (HDC:) (​) 於​ (​/​)

3 monosyllabic entries in The ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (namespace Ci):

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The Shuōwén forms of 於(​𡖗𡗃) are said to be old variants of ​(​) wū ‘crow’ (depicting the bird); the form 於(​𡖗𥾪) is an abbrev. of the old form ​𡗃, replacing the two ​ ‘wings’ with ​ (two horizontal strokes, today wr. as two ​ dots); the abbrev. form 於 came to be used for ⑴ an exclamation ​/​/於​/​ (​/​) wūhū ‘wow; alas’ (onomatopoeic, after the cry/caw of the bird; cf. 於​/​), and also for ⑵ ​ yú (prep./conj./aux.) ‘in/and/etc.’.
    Note: The left-side component in the old shapes 於(​𡖗) and ​𡗃 relates to Confucian myths about ​ Sānzúwū (the Three-Legged Crow which lives in the sun; cf. ​).
    Note: Among simple form characters 於 is always replaced by ​, except when writing the surname 於 Yū (​ Yú is used to write a different surname).
    “[於] has certainly nothing in common with ​. It is probably not an arbitrary contraction of ​ wū. It seems to be a modern sign, invented to be used as a particle expressing the relation that exists between two terms of a proposition. It represents graphically the connection (left side) between ​ two distinct ​ terms.”—Wieger [If 於 is “a modern sign”, then “modern” means after Shuōwén (121 AD).]
    “[於 yú] is due to confusion with the synonymous but not etymologically identical ​”—Karlgren(AD).
    Compare: ​ yū ‘(accumulate, build up) silt/sediment’, also wr. ​𡌧; ​ yū ‘accumulation/stasis of blood’, formerly also wr. ​.
    HDZ: 於 : wū : (​) ​ (​); (​) ​ • yú : ​, ​; ​, ​; ​, ​; (​) (​; ​, ​; ​; ​, ​; ​, ​; ​; ​, ​; ​, ​; ​, ​; ​, ​; ​; ​; ​); (​) (​; ​); (​) (​); (​); (​)
►references: Guǎngyùn:069.36,085.17; Wieger:117c; Karlgren:AD1323,GSR61e; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:3.2175.2; Mathews:7643; Kāngxī Zìdiǎn:481.11; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:090.0.06; EDOC:1
►components:𠆢𠂉
►Cantonese: yu\
►stroke 於 (... strokes)   
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Unicode: U+65BC
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