Taxonomy of meanings for 徒:
- tú (OC: daa MC: duo) 同都切 平 廣韻：【黨也又歩行也空也隷也同都切三十一 】
- WALK
- vadNpedestrian
- vadVproceeding by walking, on foot
- viactproceed by foot, walk by foot; be without any vehicle
- exocentric:on-foot military> SOLDIER
- nagentSHI: infantry soldier; soldier
- vtoNform footmen to
- ordinary> PRISONER
- nprisoner
- generalised:employee> OFFICIAL
- npluralempoyees, officialsCH
- grammaticalised:without horse> ONLY
- padNonly (deverbal?)
- padVrestrictiveonly; just; merely (negated as 非徒 rarely 不徒)
- padNfigurative pointlessCH
- padVtoNreference=objectonly the objectCH
- of the same unit, figurative> FACTION
- ncollectivescholarly faction; sort of person
- npost-Nkind of person characterised by N; adherents of N
- abstract> CATEGORY
- nab.t:post.-N+zhithe category of people of the category N
- npost-Nnonreferentialkind of person GUAN: 行食之徒 people who wander about in search of something to eat; HSWZ 詐勝之徒 SHIJI 74 NN NN NN 之徒"people like NN"
- intellectual> STUDENT
- npost-Nagentfollower, adherent (of a private person, wise person, perhaps a powerful person out of formal position); addicted person (to wine)
- nindefinitediscpiles, adherents
- grammaticalised:self-deprecatory> EGO
- n[post-npro1.][post=npro2]I, the student/ disciple
Additional information about 徒
說文解字:
- Criteria
- STUDENT
1. The current general word for a disciple of any kind, or a follower of a school or any line of thought, is tú 徒.
2. Mén rén 門人 stresses the physical abode near a master.
3. Dì zǐ 弟子 refers rather intimately to disciples of a master as the object of his affection.
4. Shǔ 屬 is a cold general word referring to someone who belongs to a certain group and under a certain leadership.
5. Cóng zhě 從者 like the English "followers" primarily focusses on the idea of following a master wherever he goes, but this nuance is weakened with time so that the term comes to mean quite abstractly "follower".
6. Xiǎo zǐ 小子 is an affectionate term only used in the vocative.
- PRISONER
1. The general term for a prisoner is qiú 囚, and this can refer to any person confined in a prison for any reason.
2. Lǔ 虜 and fú 俘 refer to a prisoner of war who has been captured in battle.
3. Tú 徒 is a prisoner who is not currently being detained in a prison, either because he is being transferred from one prison to another or because he has been released but is still regarded as a "former prisoner".
- GRATIS
1. The only current word for something being free of charge or without demand for compensation or payment is tú 徒.
NB: Bái 白 "gratis" is post-Han (SONG).
- SOLDIER
1. There is no current general word for a soldier of any rank, and the collective term for soldiers is jūn 軍 "army". See ARMY
2. Zú 卒 and the archaic tú 徒 refer to an ordinary infantry soldier, and these footsoldiers never ride chariots.
3. Jiǎ 甲 refers to armoured soldiers riding in carriages.
4. Jì 騎 refers to cavalry (Han dynasty).
5. Nǔ 弩 refers to crossbowmen.
6. Yì 役 refers to a conscript soldier.
7. Xiǎo rén 小人 (jūn zǐ 君子 "soldier of a higher grade") refers generically to the lower grades in the army.
8. Shì 士 refers to officers riding chariots in battle.
NB: Bīng 兵 "soldier" may turn out to be post-Han. I have not yet found a clear example where the word refers to a soldier.