Taxonomy of meanings for 枉:　　

  • 枉 wǎng (OC: qʷaŋʔ MC: ʔʷiɐŋ) 紆往切 上 廣韻：【邪曲也亦姓今虢州有紆往切四 】
    • CURVED
        • causative>TWIST
          • vadNbent, crooked, twisted
          • vibe capable of being bent
          • vtoNcausativecause to be twisted > distort (the law) 枉法
          • vifigurativebe flexibleCH
          • abstract>OPPOSE
              • break rules>MISTAKE
                • twisting the moral standards>UNJUST
                  • nnonreferentialthe crooked, the unjust, the depraved
                  • vadNfigurativecrooked, unjust, depraved
                  • vadVunjustly, without legal basis, without moral justification
                  • visubject=humanbe unjust or depraved
                  • visubject=actionbe the result of a bending of the law, be unjust
                  • vtoNtreat unjustly
                  • vtoNcausativecause to be unjust> distort, pervert (as laws)
                  • vtoNpsychbe unjust towards (oneself)
            • as in bowing gesture>POLITE
          • 枉 kuang2

            Additional information about 枉

            說文解字:

              Criteria
            • TWIST

              1. The current general word for something being bent is qū 曲 (ant. zhí 直 "make straight").

              2. Qū 屈 / 詘 (all ant. shēn 伸 "stretch out") refers specifically to the bending of the body, mostly when bowing politely.

              3. Náo 撓 (ant. zhèng 正 "straighten out")typically focusses on the act and impact of bending.

              4. Wǎng 枉 (ant. zhèng 正 "straight and unwarped") refers to bending as distortion. The word is predominantly transferred in meaning and prototypically refers to the bending of the law.

              5. Wān 彎 (ant.zhí 直 "keep straight") has rather limited uses in pre-Buddhist Chinese, referring to the bending of a bow.

            • UNJUST

              1. The current general term for injustice suffered is yuān 冤 (ant. píng 平 "proper balanced treatment").

              2. Wǎng 枉 (ant. zhí 直 "straight and lawful treatment") often refers to perversion of justice (althouth the word comes to mean "injustice suffered" by Eastern Han times).

              3. Qǔ 曲 refers to a slightly lesser injustice one is guilty of than wǎng 枉.

              4. Qū 屈 refers to a mild injustice suffered, milder than yuān 冤.

              Word relations
            • Ant: (TWIST)奉/PROMOTE
            • Ant: (UNJUST)直/GOOD Zhí 直 (ant. qǔ 曲 "devious") refers to moral straightforwardness and uprightness.
            • Ant: (TWIST)直/STRAIGHT The current general word for something concrete or abstract being straight in any abstract or concrete way is zhí 直 (ant. wān 彎 "bent")
            • Object: (TWIST)法/LAW The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.
            • Oppos: (TWIST)奉/RESPECT