Taxonomy of meanings for 侍:　　

  • 侍 shì (OC: ɡljɯs MC: dʑɨ) 時吏切 去 廣韻：【近也從也承也時吏切三 】
    • ACCOMPANY
      • vadVin attendance 侍坐 "sit in attendance"
      • viactbe in attendance (sometimes with position 侍於王後)
      • vt(oN)be in polite attendance with a contextually determinate senior person
      • vt+prep+Nkeep company as a servant
      • vtoNas a servant: attend on (a person); be present and serve at (a place)
      • vttoN1.+prep+N2to serve (somebody N2) at (a meal N1) 侍食於君
      • vt(oN)as a servant: attend on (a contextually determinate person); be present and serve at (a contextually determinate place)TW
    • =恃RELY ON
      • =待WAIT

        Additional information about 侍

        說文解字: 【侍】，承也。从人、寺聲。 〔小徐本作「從人、從寺。」〕 【時吏切】

          Criteria
        • ACCOMPANY

          [ASCENDING/DESCENDING]

          [GENERAL or SPECIALISED]

          [GRAMMATICALISED/LEXICAL]

          [HIERARCHICAL/NON-HIERARCHICAL]

          [MOVING/STATIONARY]

          1. The general word for accompanying someone of superior status is probably shì 侍 refers to polite attendance upon a master or leader, typically while in residence, but occasionally also on journeys. See SERVE.

          [ASCENDING], [STATIONARY]

          2. Péi 陪 typically refers to accompanying someone who is moving, and it adds to the literal meaning of accompaniment of a superior that of general support.

          [ASCENDING], [MOVING]

          3. Jù 俱 and xié 偕 refer to a symmetric relation of togetherness rather than the transitive action of accompaniment of a superior. See TOGETHER.

          [GENERAL], [NON-HIERARCHICAL]

          4. Yǔ 與 adds to the notion of accompaniment that of tactical association, the siding with someone, and occasionally the latter nuance is stronger than the meaning "to accompany" so that the word comes to mean purely "to side with".

          [DESCENDING!]

          5. Ba4n 伴 is to keep company as a friend.

          6. Co2ng 從 is to keep company as a follower.

          7. So4ng 送 is to keep company with someone who is leaving.

        • SERVE

          1. The current general word for serving another is shì 事 (ant. shǐ 使 "deploy").

          2. Chén 臣 emphasises the subservience of the servant and his lasting employment in a subservient position.

          3. Shì 侍 and the rare and more elevated yù 御 refers specifically to physical attentance to the daily needs of a master, and it involves physical presence near him. See ACCOMPANY

          4. Shǐ 使 refers specifically to serving in a formal mission on behalf of a master.

          5. Fú 服 refers to the devoted service to a master.

          6. Cóng 從 refers to someone having decided to belong to the entourage or following of a master.

          7. Huàn 宦 refers to filling a typically menial position in a household.

          Word relations
        • Oppos: (ACCOMPANY)坐/SIT The current word for sitting is not properly zuò 坐 (see KNEEL) but probably jū 居 "sit down", which is a decorous thing to do, although it is not clear in which position, exactly, one ends up, and the suspicion is that one ends up, in fact, kneeling politely in the zuò 坐 fashion.