Taxonomy of meanings for 揖:　　

  • 揖 yī (OC: qib MC: ʔip) 伊入切 入 廣韻：【揖遜又進也説文云攘也一曰手著胷曰揖伊入切二 】
    • BOW DOWN
      • viactbow one's obeissance; give a salute with a ceremonious bow
      • vt+V[0]causativebow slightly as invitation for Ving (e.g. slightly lower one's head in a certain direction in order to signal that the addressee is supposed to sit down)
      • vtoNbow one's obeissance to (somebody)
    • YIELD
      • LOOK DOWN
        • HOLD
          • HUMBLE

            Additional information about 揖

            說文解字: 【揖】，攘也。从手、咠聲。一曰：手箸胷曰揖。 〔小徐本「箸」作「著」。〕 【伊入切】

              Criteria
            • BOW DOWN

              1. The general word for all kinds of bowing recognised as ritually correct is bài 拜, which involves kneeling on the ground, moving one's head against one's hands joined in the obligatory Confucian manner, and bowing one's torso forward, and this word is often rich in further semantic nuances. It is important to realise that even newly appointed kings bowed in the bài 拜 fashion. By Han times, this kind of bowing often was accompanied by one's pronouncing one's personal name. Standardly, one 再拜 "bowed twice" in ancient China.

              [GENERAL]; [[COMMON+]]

              2. Qǐ 稽 and mostly qǐ shǒu 稽首 refers to the profoundest bow which involves hitting the ground with one's forehead and remaining in that position.

              [ASCENDING++], [ELEVATED], [FORMAL]

              3. Dùn shǒu 頓首 involves knocking the ground and lifting one's head again, thus being not quite as extreme as qǐ shǒu 稽首.

              [ASCENDING+], [ELEVATED], [FORMAL]

              4. Yī 揖 refers to a polite bow with one's hands held against one's chest.

              [HORIZONTAL], [POLITE]

              5. Gǒng 拱 refers to a polite bow where the hands, which are held together in the Confucian (and not the Buddhist) fashion, are removed some distance from the chest and shaken only mildly, or, as in the chuí gǒng 垂拱 variety, in front of one's stomach, typically as a sign of dignified and polite inactivity.

              [ELEVATED], [POLITE]

              6. Fǔ 俯 / 俛 refers to a general deep bowing down from a predominantly physical point of view, without any particular emphasis on the semantics of the bowing, and the action does not involve kneeling or hitting the ground with one's forehead.

              [ELEVATED]; [[CURRENT]]

              7. Yǔ 傴 is to bow deeply so as to reach a position like that of a hunchback, and to remain in that position for a considerable time.

              [ARCHAIC], [FORMAL]; [[RARE]]

              8. Lóu 僂 is to bow slightly so as to reach a position like that of a mildly hunchbacked person, and to remain in that position for a considerable time.

              [ARCHAIC], [FORMAL]; [[RARE]]

              9. Fú 伏 refers to the sustained polite bowing position in which, for example, polite deliberation by superiors had to be seen to proceed in the Han court, and this meaning has to be distinguished from the meaning "to crouch".

              [ASCENDING], [POLITE]

              10. Shì 式 (often written 軾 ) refers to the polite ritual act of stopping one's cart and leaning politely over the railings of that cart to greet someone.

              [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [FORMAL]

              Word relations
            • Assoc: (BOW DOWN)讓/YIELD The dominant general word referring to yielding politely to others or giving precedence to them is ràng 讓 (ant. líng 陵 "treat without proper respect").