Wiktionary

公

公 U+516C, 公
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-516C
← 八
[U+516B] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 六 →
[U+516D]

Translingual Edit

Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character Edit

公 (Kangxi radical 12, 八+2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 金戈 (CI), four-corner 80732, composition ⿱八厶)

Derived characters Edit

References Edit

  • KangXi: page 126, character 28
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1452
  • Dae Jaweon: page 277, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 242, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+516C

Chinese Edit

trad. 公
simp. # 公
alternative forms 㒶

Glyph origin Edit

Historical forms of the character 公
Shang Western Zhou Spring and Autumn Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
               
Oracle bone script
 

j01453

 

j01454

 

j01455

 

j01456

 

j01457

 

j01458

 

j01459

 

j01460

 

j01461

Bronze inscriptions
 

b01003

 

b01004

 

b01005

 

b01006

 

b01007

 

b01008

 

b01009

 

b01010

 

b01011

 

b01012

 

b01013

 

b01014

 

b01015

 

b01016

 

b01017

 

b01018

 

b01019

 

b01020

 

b01021

 

b01022

 

b01023

 

b01024

 

b01025

 

b01026

 

b01027

 

b01028

 

b01029

 

b01030

 

b01031

 

b01032

 

b01033

 

b01034

 

b01035

 

b01036

 

b01037

 

b01038

 

b01039

 

b01040

 

b01041

 

b01042

 

b01043

 

b01044

 

b01045

 

b01046

 

b01047

 

b01048

 

b01049

 

b01050

 

b01051

 

b01052

 

b01053

 

b01054

 

b01055

 

b01056

 

b01057

 

b01058

 

b01059

 

b01060

 

b01061

 

b01062

 

b01063

 

b01064

 

b01065

 

b01066

 

b01067

 

b01068

 

b01069

Small seal script
 

s00797

Transcribed ancient scripts
 

L00339

 

L00340

 

L00341

 

L00342

 

L00343

 

L00344

 

L00345

 

L00346

 

L00347

 

L00348

 

L00349

 

L00350

 

L00351

 

L00352

 

L00353

 

L00354

 

L00355

 

L00356

 

L00357

 

L00358

 

L00359

 

L00360

 

L00361

 

L00362

 

L00363

 

L00364

 

L00365

 

L00366

 

L00367

 

L00368

 

L00369

 

L00370

 

L00371

 

L00372

 

L00373

 

L29774

 

L29775

 

L29776

 

L29777

 

L29778

 

L29779

 

L29780

 

L29781

 

L29782

 

L29783

 

L29784

 

L29785

 

L29786

 

L29787

 

L29788

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Characters in the same phonetic series (公) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
慃 *qroːŋʔ
袞 *kluːnʔ
蔉 *kluːnʔ
滾 *kluːnʔ
忩 *sʰloːŋ
鬆 *sqʰloːŋs, *sqʰluːŋ, *skʰloŋ, *sqʰloŋ
凇 *sqʰloːŋs, *sqʰloŋ, *sɢloŋ
公 *kloːŋ
蚣 *kloːŋ, *kljoŋ
翁 *qloːŋ
螉 *qloːŋ
蓊 *qloːŋ, *qloːŋʔ
嗡 *qloːŋ
滃 *qloːŋʔ
暡 *qloːŋʔ
勜 *qloːŋʔ
塕 *qloːŋʔ
瓮 *qloːŋs
崧 *sqʰluŋ
菘 *sqʰluŋ
硹 *sqʰluŋ
淞 *sqʰloŋ, *sɢloŋ
蜙 *sqʰloŋ
倯 *sqʰloŋ
松 *sɢloŋ
訟 *sɢloŋ, *sɢloŋs
頌 *sɢloŋs, *loŋ
忪 *kljoŋ
彸 *kljoŋ
衳 *kljoŋ
伀 *kljoŋ
妐 *kljoŋ
炂 *kljoŋ
鈆 *kljoŋ, *lon
 
A 瓮 from the Longshan culture (also called Black Pottery Culture) [3000 – 1900 BC].

The traditional interpretation as given by Han Feizi is that 公 is a compound of 八 (= 背 (“to deviate; opposite”)) and 厶 (original form of 私 (“individual; private”)), i.e. the opposite of “private” — “public”. This theory is supported by Sun Yirang and Qiang Kaiyun, despite the somewhat different shape of the bottom component from 厶.

This is disputed in modern times by Gao Hongjin, who thinks that the 八 on top stands for 分 (“to divide; to distribute”) and the bottom round component 口 symbolises a generic object. 公 thus represents “equally dividing resources so that they are communal”.

Another theory put forth by Zhu Fangpu is that 公 is a pictogram (象形), being the original form of 瓮 (OC *qloːŋs, “a wide-mouthed round-bottomed jar”), and later borrowed for the meanings of “public” and “male of older generation or higher rank”.

Etymology Edit

"fair; impartial; public"
From Sino-Tibetan; cognate with Tibetan གུང (gung), དགུང (dgung, “middle”), considering that "middle" may be semantically associated with "balance" (Schuessler, 2007).
"male of older generation or higher rank; duke; male (of animals)"
This word has been connected to 翁 (OC *qloːŋ) (Wang, 1982; Unger, 1999; Baxter and Sagart, 2017). Baxter and Sagart (2017) also includes 妐 (OC *t-qoŋ, “husband's father”) in this word family.
STEDT provisionally sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kaŋ (“father; grandfather; honorific”), also comparing it to 翁; compare Drung kangkang (“grandpa”), vkang (“(my/our) grandfather”), Burmese ခင် (hkang), as in မိခင် (mi.hkang, “mother”), ဖခင် (hpa.hkang, “father”). Alternatively, STEDT also compares it with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *gaŋ (“penis; male”), whence 雄 (OC *ɡʷɯŋ, “male”), but considers it less probable.
Schuessler (2007) suggests a Mon-Khmer origin; compare Khmer ឡូញ (louñ, “title of an unidentified rank or function”) and Old Khmer khloñ (“head, chief”) (whence ខ្លោង (khlaong)). Compare also Thai ลุง (lung), from Proto-Tai *luŋᴬ (“parent's older brother”), which may also be from Mon-Khmer. Tibetan [script needed] (khong) ~ [script needed] (gong, “final syllable in dignitaries' name”) may be borrowed from Chinese.

Pronunciation Edit

Note:
  • é̤ng - vernacular;
  • gó̤ng - literary.
  • Min Dong
    • Note:
    • gĕ̤ng - vernacular;
    • gŭng - literary.
  • Min Nan
    • Note:
    • kang - vernacular;
    • kong - literary.
    Note:
    • gang1 - vernacular;
    • gong1 - literary.
  • Wu
  • Xiang
    • Dialectal data
    Variety Location 公
    Mandarin Beijing /kuŋ⁵⁵/
    Harbin /kuŋ⁴⁴/
    Tianjin /kuŋ²¹/
    Jinan /kuŋ²¹³/
    Qingdao /kəŋ²¹³/
    Zhengzhou /kuŋ²⁴/
    Xi'an /kuŋ²¹/
    Xining /kuə̃⁴⁴/
    Yinchuan /kuŋ⁴⁴/
    Lanzhou /kũn³¹/
    Ürümqi /kuŋ⁴⁴/
    Wuhan /koŋ⁵⁵/
    Chengdu /koŋ⁵⁵/
    Guiyang /koŋ⁵⁵/
    Kunming /koŋ⁴⁴/
    Nanjing /koŋ³¹/
    Hefei /kəŋ²¹/
    Jin Taiyuan /kuəŋ¹¹/
    Pingyao /kuŋ¹³/
    Hohhot /kũŋ³¹/
    Wu Shanghai /koŋ⁵³/
    Suzhou /koŋ⁵⁵/
    Hangzhou /koŋ³³/
    Wenzhou /koŋ³³/
    Hui Shexian /kuʌ̃³¹/
    Tunxi /kan¹¹/
    Xiang Changsha /koŋ³³/
    Xiangtan /kən³³/
    Gan Nanchang /kuŋ⁴²/
    Hakka Meixian /kuŋ⁴⁴/
    Taoyuan /kuŋ²⁴/
    Cantonese Guangzhou /koŋ⁵³/
    Nanning /kuŋ⁵⁵/
    Hong Kong /kuŋ⁵⁵/
    Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /kiɔŋ⁵⁵/
    /kaŋ⁵⁵/
    Fuzhou (Min Dong) /kuŋ⁴⁴/
    Jian'ou (Min Bei) /kɔŋ⁵⁴/
    Shantou (Min Nan) /koŋ³³/
    /kaŋ³³/
    Haikou (Min Nan) /koŋ²³/
    /kaŋ²³/
    Rime
    Character 公
    Reading # 1/1
    Initial (聲) 見 (28)
    Final (韻) 東 (1)
    Tone (調) Level (Ø)
    Openness (開合) Open
    Division (等) I
    Fanqie 古紅切
    Baxter kuwng
    Reconstructions
    Zhengzhang
    Shangfang         		/kuŋ/
    Pan
    Wuyun         		/kuŋ/
    Shao
    Rongfen         		/kuŋ/
    Edwin
    Pulleyblank         		/kəwŋ/
    Li
    Rong         		/kuŋ/
    Wang
    Li         		/kuŋ/
    Bernard
    Karlgren         		/kuŋ/
    Expected
    Mandarin
    Reflex         		gōng
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex         		gung1
    Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
    Character 公 公
    Reading # 1/2 2/2
    Modern
    Beijing
    (Pinyin)         		gōng gōng
    Middle
    Chinese         		‹ kuwng › ‹ kuwng ›
    Old
    Chinese         		/*C.qˁoŋ/ /*C.qˁoŋ/
    English impartial, just; public father; prince

    Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

    * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
    * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
    * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
    * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

    * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
    Zhengzhang system (2003)
    Character 公
    Reading # 1/1
    No. 4092
    Phonetic
    component         		公
    Rime
    group         		東
    Rime
    subdivision         		0
    Corresponding
    MC rime         		公
    Old
    Chinese         		/*kloːŋ/

    Definitions Edit

    公

    1. public; communal
      Antonym: 私 (sī)
    2. fair; equitable
    3. to make public; to announce
    4. international; universal
      公海  ―  gōnghǎi  ―  international waters
      公里  ―  gōnglǐ  ―  kilometer
      公尺  ―  gōngchǐ  ―  meter
    5. duke
    6. (of animals) male
      Antonym: 母 (mǔ)
      公雞／公鸡  ―  gōngjī  ―  rooster
    7. (honorific) old man or a man of high status
      陳公大文之墓／陈公大文之墓  ―  Chén gōng Dàwén zhī mù  ―  Tomb of Mr. Chen Dawen (written on a tombstone)
      蔣公／蒋公  ―  Jiǎng gōng  ―  Chiang Kai-shek (honorific form)
    8. grandfather
    9. father-in-law (husband's father)
      公婆  ―  gōngpó  ―  parents-in-law (husband's parents)
    10. (Cantonese) heads (side of a coin)
    11. (Hakka) A noun suffix
      鼻公 [Sixian Hakka]  ―  phi-kûng [Pha̍k-fa-sṳ]  ―  nose
      貓公／猫公 [Meixian Hakka]  ―  miau4 gung1 [Hakka Transliteration Scheme]  ―  cat
    12. a surname

    Synonyms Edit

    Dialectal synonyms of 鏝 (“side of a coin without written characters”) [map]
    Variety Location Words
    Mandarin Beijing 鏝兒
    Luoyang 鏝兒
    Wanrong 鏝兒
    Xi'an 鏝兒
    Xining 鏝兒
    Wuhan 鏝
    Xuzhou 鏝兒
    Yangzhou 幕
    Cantonese Hong Kong 公
    Gan Nanchang 鏝
    Lichuan 鏝兒
    Pingxiang 鏝子, 番子
    Jin Taiyuan 幕兒, 鏝兒
    Pingyao 眼兒
    Shenmu 鏝兒
    Min Dong Fuzhou 覆
    Min Nan Xiamen 合
    Leizhou 背
    Wu Ningbo 烏
    Wenzhou 鏝
    Xiang Changsha 杠子

    Compounds Edit

    Descendants Edit

    Sino-Xenic (公):
    • → Japanese: 公(こう) (kō, “duke”)
    • → Korean: 공(公) (gong, “duke”)
    • → Vietnamese: công (公, “duke”)

    Others:

    • → Mongolian: гүн (gün)
    • → Manchu: ᡤᡠᠩ (gung)
    • → Thai: กง (gong, “grandfather”) (said by Chinese race)

    Japanese Edit

    Shinjitai

    		公

    Kyūjitai

    		公

    Kanji Edit

    公

    (grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings Edit

    Compounds Edit

    Etymology 1 Edit

    Kanji in this term
    公
    おおやけ
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi
    For pronunciation and definitions of 公 – see the following entry.
    【おおやけ】
    [noun] public
    [noun] official, governmental
    (This term, 公, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

    Etymology 2 Edit

    Kanji in this term
    公
    こう
    Grade: 2
    on’yomi

    From Middle Chinese 公 (MC kuwng).

    Pronunciation Edit

    Noun Edit

    公(こう) • (kō) 

    1. (honorific) a European sovereign prince
      モナコ公(こう)
      Monako Kō
      the Prince of Monaco
      ウェールズ公(こう)チャールズ
      Wēruzu Kō Chāruzu
      Charles, Prince of Wales
    2. (honorific) a duke; in China and Vietnam, an alternative to 王 (ō, “prince”), used by certain dynasties for princes
      Holonym: 五爵
      Coordinate terms: 侯, 公爵, 子, 男, 伯
      周(しゅう)公(こう)旦(たん)
      Shūkō Tan
      Dan, Duke of Zhou
      鄧(とう)九(きゅう)公(こう)
      Tō Kyūkō
      the Ninth Deng Duke; the Ninth Duke of the Dengs/Deng family
      公(こう)子(し)
      kōshi
      a duke's son
      公(こう)女(じょ)
      kōjo
      a duke's daughter
      公(こう)孫(そん)
      kōson
      a duke's grandchild
      エディンバラ公(こう)フィリップ王(おう)配(はい)
      Edinbara Kō Firippu Ōhai
      Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
    3. (familiar) used as suffix to denote familiarity with or disdain for someone or an animal
      • 1997 September 1 [1996 October 10], Fujiko F. Fujio, “どこかでだれかが　の巻(まき)”, in エスパー魔美 [Esper Mami], 4th edition, volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 245:
        マミ公(こう)‼どこへいったんだ。しようがないなあ‼モデルという重(じゅう)要(よう)なしごとを、こづかいかせぎぐらいにしか、かんがえていないんだから。
        Mami-kō‼ Doko e itta n da. Shiyō ga nai nā‼ Moderu to iu jūyō na shigoto o, kozukai kasegigurai ni shika, kangaete inai n da kara.
        Mami!! Where the hell’d she go? This is unacceptable!! She treats serious modeling as nothing but a way to get pocket money.

    Etymology 3 Edit

    Kanji in this term
    公
    きみ
    Grade: 2
    kun’yomi
    For pronunciation and definitions of 公 – see the following entry.
    【君きみ】3
    [noun] a ruler of a country
    [noun] an emperor
    [noun] a lord
    [noun] a master
    [noun] a nobleman or other person of high(er) rank
    [noun] (historical, archaic) a prostitute
    [noun] (historical) one of the hereditary titles bestowed to local chiefs in ancient Japan
    [pronoun] (informal, chiefly men's speech) second-person personal pronoun: you
    [pronoun] (after a が (ga) or の (no) particle) term of respect to another person
    Alternative spelling
    キミ
    【君ぎみ】3
    [suffix] indicates respect
    (This term, 公, is an alternative spelling (uncommon) of the above term.)

    References Edit

    1. ^ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

    Korean Edit

    Etymology Edit

    From Middle Chinese 公 (MC kuwng). Recorded as Middle Korean 고ᇰ (kwong) (Yale: kwong) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

    Hanja Edit

    Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

    Wikisource

    公 (eumhun 공평할 공 (gongpyeonghal gong))

    1. Hanja form? of 공 (“fair; official”).

    Compounds Edit

    Compounds

    References Edit

    • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [1]

    Vietnamese Edit

    Han character Edit

    公: Hán Nôm readings: công

    1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
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