Taxonomy of meanings for 寇:　　

Additional information about 寇

說文解字:

Criteria
• ENEMY
  

  1. The general word for an enemy or opponent of any kind is dí 敵 (ant. yǒu 友 "friend") which can also often refer to mere competitors or adversaries.

  2. Kòu 寇 is an enemy of the state, often a foreigner.

  3. Chóu 讎 (ant. yǒu 友 "friend") emphasises the intense emotional nature of the conflict between the enemies concerned.

  4. Qiú 仇 "fiend" (ant. qīn 親 "someone close to one") refers to a mortal enemy with whom one has a serious feud.

  5. Lǔ 虜 is originally a foreign enemy who deserves to be taken prisoner, but the term comes to be used quite generally for an enemy of the state in Han times.

  6. Zéi 賊 emphasises the moral turpitude and decrepitude or the villainy of the enemy.

• ATTACK
  

  [ASCENDING/DESCENDING]

  [CIVIL/MILITARY]

  [COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]

  [COVERT/OVERT]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [LARGE-SCALE/SMALL-SCALE]

  1. The general word for any attack is gōng 攻 (ant. shǒu 守 "defend"; success kè 克 ) which can be used in a general sense referring to all kinds of attack, although that word does also have the specific meaning of a pointed campaign against a certain locality. (Note 戰必勝，攻必克。 )

  [GENERAL]

  2. Fá 伐 refers to a large-scale typically destructive formal attack by one state on another, typically formally announced, and with much beating of drums.

  [DESCENDING], [MILITARY!], [LARGE-SCALE!], [OVERT]

  3. Qīn 侵 refers to a less formal attack, typically unannounced beforehand, and typically aimed at taking the enemy's territory.

  [COVERT!], [DEROGATORY], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

  4. Xí 襲 refers to a surreptitious attack, on the sly, without any self-righteous pomp.

  [COVERT+], [MILITARY], [SPECIFIC]

  5. Zhēng 征 refers to a typically punitive campain of some size against a state, construed as being of lower status.

  [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING], [MILITARY], [LARGE-SCALE], [OVERT]

  6. Tǎo 討 refers to a an extended explicitly punitive campaign by someone who construes himself as being in moral authority and entitled to uphold rectitude and morality through warfare. (Also figurative as in 天討有罪 "Heaven punishes those who are guilty". See PUNISH)

  [COMMENDATORY], [DESCENDING+], [MILITARY], [OVERT]

  7. Wéi 圍 refers specifically to military attack by surrouding the enemy.

  [MILITARY], [OVERT], [SPECIFIC]

  8. Kòu 寇 refers derogatorily to a wanton enemy attack.

  [DEROGATORY+], [MILITARY]

• VILLAIN
  

  1. The most general and comprehensive term for a villain is zéi 賊, and the basic association is with the damage he does. There is no special association with murder or thievery.

  2. Kòu 寇 refers to thugs and robbers, particularly enemies of the state.

  3. Dào 盜 refers to thieves or the more ordinary kind, and burglars, and the basic association is with the property he romoves. Note that Dào Zhí 盜跖 is something of a euphemism, since this gentleman was an arch-villain of great dimension.

  4. Yì 役 is occasionally used for a scoundrel.

• PURSUE
  

  1. The current general word for pursuing something or going after something in a hostile way, driving what is pursued before one, competing with it for speed, is zhú 逐 and the word can only very occasionally refer to abstract pursuits like that of wisdom, as in the venatio sapientiae of Nicolas Cusanus. It is significant that the word currently means "to expel", where expelling and chasing are not always easy to distinguish.

  2. Zhuī 追 refers to the attempt of catching up with anything, characteristically a kòu 寇 "enemy" or thief (who may not know he is being pursued) but without any attending notion that what is being caught up with is NECESSARILY trying to escape or to make great speed, and the word is regularly used in figurative derived meanings "to seek", as in zhuī lì 追利 "chasing after profit".

  3. Suǒ 索 emphasises the seeking aspect in the pursuit of something or someone.

  4. Jí 及 and the rarer dài 逮 refer to a successful pursuit. See CATCH UP

  5. Qū 驅 suggests a hot and fast pursuit typically uncrowned by success.

Word relations
• Assoc: (VILLAIN)盜/THIEF The standard word for a professional or at least specialised thief is dào 盜. Dà dào 大盜 is a notorious professional thief, jù dào 巨盜 is a professional large scale robber. 3 Attributions
• Assoc: (ENEMY)讎/ENEMY Chóu 讎 (ant. yǒu 友 "friend") emphasises the intense emotional nature of the conflict between the enemies concerned. 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (ENEMY)戎/BARBARIAN Róng 戎 refers to western barbarians. 1 Attribution
• Oppos: (ENEMY)我/WE1 Attribution