TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
已
ㄧˇ · yǐ
adv — already; to cease
字源 FORM — what the parts do
已形rendered bare — split from 巳; the everyday senses are borrowed
已 began as the same graph as 巳; the everyday senses — to cease, already — are borrowed sounds. The one thing to watch is the top-left opening: 己 stands open, 已 closes halfway, 巳 seals shut.
意 · Meanings
(假借)不已、已甚— to cease — the classical branch
→已經— already — what has ceased is complete常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
己jǐthe open one of the trio — 己全開、半開、巳全閉巳sìthe sealed one — and the graph split away from