Taxonomy of meanings for 妓:　　

  • 妓 jī (OC: kre MC: kɯiɛ) 居宜切 平 廣韻：【妓姕態皃又渠綺切 】
  • 妓 jì (OC: ɡreʔ MC: ɡɯiɛ) 渠綺切 上 廣韻：【女樂 】

Additional information about 妓

說文解字: 【妓】，婦人小物也。从女、支聲。讀若跂行。 【渠綺切】

    Criteria
  • ENTERTAINER

    1. The most current general word for an entertainer is jì 妓, and this word refers to any entertainer including artists, dancers, and clowns of any kind.

    2. Chàng 倡 refers occasionally to an entertainer specialised in singing, especially the main singer.

    3. Lìng 伶 refers specifically to a musician-entertainer who accompanies the main singers chàng 倡.

    4. Yōu 優 and yōu rén 優人 refers to dwarf-clowns who perform through comic talk, comic action and slapstick comedy.

    5. Pái 俳 and more often pái yōu 俳優 refer to a superior specialist in comic talk.

    6. Zhū rú 侏儒 is a general word for a dwarf, and since the dwarf at court typically acted as a clown, the term came also to refer generally to clowns.

    <div>7. Nu# yuè 女樂 is a standard general term for female musical entertainers or female musicians.</div><div><br></div><div>A splendid comparative overview is found in Beatrice K. Otto, Fools are Everywhere. The Court Jester Around the World, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001<br></div><br>