借 (jiè) — to borrow; to lend; to make use of

entries → 借

TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字

借 character · TOCFL 1 (est.)

借＝亻＋昔

ㄐㄧㄝˋ · jiè

verb — to borrow; to lend; to make use of

字源 FORM — what the parts do

亻義a person — borrower or lender

昔聲xī — gives the soundsun (日) under stacked layers — dried meat, hence former days

{ji,qi,xi}Ixī → jiè — the sibilant hardens to j

昔 (xī) — the sun (日) beneath layered strips, days laid by, the former-times graph — lends the sound. Set a person (亻) to it: one who takes a thing for a while and gives it back, 借錢, 借書; loan it out the other way, 借出; lean on something for cover, 借口. The initial hardens from xī to jiè.

意 · Meanings

(本義)借用、借入— to borrow常用

→借出、出借— to lend out常用

⇒借口、憑藉— to make use of, to lean on (a pretext)

(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension