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I've been studying the etymology of characters lately, and I'm stuck trying to figure out how 对/對 is formed.

It is apparently a compound of 丵 (zhuó; grass, bush) and 寸 (cùn; inch, thumb), plus an extra horizontal stroke at the bottom left of 對, which various sources have different explanations as coming from 口, 士, or 土.

Neither the modern nor Old Chinese pronunciations of 對 (/tuːbs/) resemble any of the possible components: 丵 (/zroːwɢ/), 寸 (/shuːns/), 口 (/kʰoːʔ/), 士 (/zrɯʔ/), 土 (/l̥ʰaːʔ/). This seems to indicate that 對 is not a phonosemantic compound (形声).

But it also doesn't seem to be an associative compound (会意) either, since none of the components seem to be related to any of the meanings of 對.

So how is 對 formed?

Peter Olson
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3 Answers3

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well, to make a reasonable guess; have a look of 漢語多功能字庫, please.

對 (u+5c0d) is a character since 甲骨文 (oracle bone script), which is composed by component "丵" (u+4e35), "土" (u+571f), & "又 - 手" (又 originally means right hand).

3 pictures of 對 in oracle bone script:

p1p2p3

then, 丵 in small seal script (i can't find this one in oracle bone script at this moment) p4

土 in oracle bone script p5

又 - 手 in oracle bone script p6

the synopsis in this page is:

手持工具開闢土地

the initial meaning of 對 is "using hand (又 - 手) tools (丵) to develop land (土)".

later, in 金文 (bronze script), the form of 對 is slightly changed: p7p8p9

闢地分疆﹒植樹於土﹒立下地界

the meaning of 對 at this time is "planting tree along the boundary of the newly developed land"

with nowadays technology, one might think of "building a fence to protect an area" (e.g. set up barbed wire fence to encircle a farm)

then,

後假借為應對、應答之意

對 was "borrowed" to have the meaning of "response", "reply" or "answer"; which matches of the first two explanations in 國語辭典

http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=W00000002366

imo, chopping "對" into "業" & "寸"; errh . . . . "off course" :(

imo, quoting "帝作邦作對" to support the above meaning is appealing.

here's the poem 皇矣 ( with James Legge's english translation)

作之屏之﹒其菑其翳
脩之平之﹒其灌其栵
啟之辟之﹒其檉其椐
攘之剔之﹒其檿其柘

verses in the second group is, opened up, made clearing in forest, paved the area.

then, in third group:

帝省其山﹒柞棫斯拔﹒松柏斯兌

柞 has the meaning of "chop down trees"

帝作邦作對

邦 has the meaning of "planting tree as boundary", similar to 對. imo, "作邦作對" is rhetoric, a "writing in pair". in modern chinese, we still have the saying: 作威作福, or, 作福作威

next, 業 is character since bronze script, which is a 象形字 (pictogram) of "rack for hanging bell, musical instruments". here're 2 samples of 業: p10p11

imo, 業 is, unlikely, derived from 對 or 丵.

水巷孑蠻
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  • the meaning of 對 at this time is "planting tree along the boundary of the newly developed land" Are there any examples in old texts where this definition is supported by the context, or is it just a conjecture based on the character components? – Peter Olson Jun 29 '16 at 06:25
  • The Classic of Poetry（詩經）has the line, 「帝作邦作對」. – sazarando Jun 29 '16 at 07:09
  • According to a commentary on the Classic of Poetry on Google Books（詩經今註今譯）, the word 對 in this usage refers to a "pair" of wise princes, namely 太伯 and 王李． – sazarando Jun 29 '16 at 07:40
  • @peter olson, @sazarando; answer edited, it's hard to write long in comment – 水巷孑蠻 Jun 29 '16 at 13:51
  • Once again, I really like the link you added. I have a couple questions about your additions. I'll put them in separate comments below... – sazarando Jun 30 '16 at 02:35
  • The 柞 in 柞棫斯拔 is part of the name of a tree（柞棫）isn't it? Can you share a reference for the meaning, "chop down trees"?
    • – sazarando Jun 30 '16 at 02:39
  • 邦 is also identified as a 形声 character in the 説文解字, which indicates that it's origin would not be from planting trees. Can you share another reference for the meaning of "planting trees"?
    • – sazarando Jun 30 '16 at 02:42
  • The reference my answer shows the Oracle Bone Script version of 業 which is almost identical to the left side of the Oracle Bone Script character for 對. However, are you aware of any references that would show that 業 is actually a newer character than 對?
    • – sazarando Jun 30 '16 at 02:52