Taxonomy of meanings for 伯:　　

  • 伯 bó (OC: praaɡ MC: pɯak) 博陌切 入 廣韻：【長也又侯伯周書曰率衆時作謂之伯亦姓左傳晉有大夫伯宗又漢複姓二氏韓子有伯夫氏墨家流莊子有伯成子髙博陌切八 】
    • BROTHER
      • neldest brother
      • specifically father's elder brother> UNCLE
        • nfather's elder brother 2. Husband's elder brother. No extended usage.
        • figurative> RANK
          • n+Nprtitleearl N　？？？
          • nnonreferentialearls; an earl
          • npost-N{PLACE}title秦伯third of the feudal ranks, 公侯伯子男，"earl"
          • npost-N{PLACE}.+Npr秦伯罃
          • npost-Ntitle風伯"Earl"
        • grammaticalised, polite> YOU
          • n[post-npro1.][post=npro2]you, my uncle
    • proper name> DEITY
      • proper name> STATE
        • nearldom
    • 伯 訓讀bà
        • RULER
          • vichange= ba4 霸: become the hegemonLZ
          • specific: leader of the feudal lords> LEAD
        • bǎi/bó=百> HUNDRED
          • none hundred
          • vtoNreferentialbe a hundred times superior to
          • nadNa hundred times as much as
          • nmilitaryforce of a hundred, German: Hundertschaft

          Additional information about 伯

          說文解字: 【伯】，長也。从人、白聲。 【博陌切】

            Criteria
          • BROTHER

            1. The standard collective term for brothers is xiōng dì 兄弟.

            2. Xiōng 兄 can refer to the eldest brother as the head of his own generation (explicitly bó xiōng 伯兄 ), but it word often refers more generally to elder brothers, including those who are not the heir in the clan.

            3. Dì 弟 refers to the younger brothers, and never specifically to the youngest.

            4. Zōng zǐ 宗子 is a specific, formal, and ritual term for the eldest brother and heir in a family, typically after the death of whom he succeeds. See HEIR.

            5. Zhòng 仲 refers to the next-eldest or second-eldest brother.

            6. Bó 伯／霸 is the technical term for the eldest brother, and this word is sometimes expanded to bó xiōng 伯兄.

            7. Jì 季 refers to the last-born brother or sister.

            8. Kūn dì 昆弟 refers to brothers in general, but there is a pervasive doubt whether it does not also include the notion of cousins. See COUSIN.

          • RULER

            1. The current general word for a person in charge of or senior to others is zhǔ 主 (ant. pú 僕 "servant").

            2. Jūn 君 (ant. chén 臣 "minister") refers specifically to someone who is politically or administratively in charge of others as a ruler.

            3. Wáng 王 (contrast bà 霸 "hegemon basing his role on power rather than moral authority") refers specifically to someone who is enfeoffed as a formal ruler of what counts as a state in ancient China.

            4. Gōng 公 has many related meaning, but when following after the name of a state the word refers specifically to the ruler of an enfeoffed kingdom under the Son of Heaven who belongs to the royal lineage. After personal names, or used absolutely, the word may generally refer to to rulers of any rank and might be fastidiously translated as "his lordship".

            5. Hóu 侯 refers specifically to someone who is enfeoffed with a kingdom (or by Han times a minor administrative area) by the Son of Heaven as a hereditary feudal lord.

            6. Bà 霸 (contr. wáng 王 "regular king"), sometimes also written 伯 refers to a person who is in actual control of an area and specifically to one who acts as the leader of the feudal lords, and the term is sometimes used pejoratively for a "tyrant" caring for his own interests rather than those of his subordinates.

            7. Lìng 令 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a xiàn 縣 by order of a king.

            8. Shǒu 守 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a jùn 郡 by order of the emperor.

            9. Mù 牧 refers specifically to someone who is controlling a zhōu 州 by order of the emperor in Eastern Han times.

            10. Shàng 上 can refer to any governing authority or ruler, but by Han times the word became a standard polite way of referring to the Han emperor.

            11. Chán-yú 單于 refers specifically to the ruler of the Xiōngnú 匈奴. Cf. the Tang term kēhān 可汗 "Khan".

            12. Háo 豪 refers to a person of power but without formally recognised bureaucratic status.

            13. Kuí 魁 refers to a powerful popular leader unrecognised by government.