TSUMUGU · A2 (est.) · 字
散
ㄙㄢˇ · sǎn/sàn
verb (sàn) — to scatter, break up; adj (sǎn) — loose, scattered
字源 FORM — what the parts do
攵義a hand with a stick — beating apart
龹空worn top-left — the old graph's scattering element, no longer readable
A hand with a stick (攵) beats strips of meat (月) apart until they fall loose — to scatter. The top-left worked into 龹 long ago and no longer reads as anything on its own; the meaning still lands in the hand and the flesh: 分散、解散, and the loose, scattered 散 of 散文、鬆散.
意 · Meanings
sàn
(本義)分散、解散— to scatter, break up常用
→散步— to take a walk — to wander loose常用
sǎn
(本義)鬆散、零散— loose, scattered常用
→散文— prose — loose writing
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension