Taxonomy of meanings for 根:　　

  • 根 gēn (OC: kɯɯn MC: kən) 古痕切 平 廣韻：【根柢也亦姓根牟子古賢者著書出風俗通古痕切四 】
    • ROOT
      • nroot, primarily root that grows horizontally
      • nabmetaphysicalthe very root (of Heaven etc)CH
      • n(post-N)figurativetheir rootsCH
      • uproot>REMOVE
        • generalised>STEM
            • metaphorical>PENIS
              • npenis
              • generalised>ORGAN
                • nreproductive organs
                • nbuddhistBUDDH: this is the Buddhist standard term for sense organ (as in liùgēn 六根 'the Six Sense-faculties, including the 心根 'mind-organ') SANSKRIT indriya
          • abstract>BASIS
            • nabmetaphysicalabstract and metaphorical: root; basis; karmic basis (BUDDH.: orig. tr. SANSKRIT indriya or mūla; see http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?68.xml+id('b6839'))
            • nadNbasic
            • vibe basic
            • vt+prep+Nbe based in, have one's roots in MENG 仁義禮智根於心。that is to say, benevolence, rightness, the rites and wisdom, is rooted in his heart.
            • specific: foot of mountain etc>SIDE
              • dynamic>CAUSE
                  • of performance>TALENT
                    • nabpsychspiritual capacity
                  • pursue causes of>INVESTIGATE
                    • temporal>ORIGIN
                        • process>BEGIN
                          • norigin, descent

                Additional information about 根

                說文解字:

                  Criteria
                • ROOT

                  1. The current common word for a root of any kind is gēn 根, but the word also refers specifically to roots growing horizontally near the surface of the earth.

                  3. Dǐ 柢 refers specifically to the roots of a plant that grow straight down into the earth.

                  3. Běn 本 refers to the lower part of the tree, and this part of the tree is often thought of as including the root. See TRUNK

                  4. Zhū 株 refers to a tree-stump, and this part of the tree is often thought of as including the root. See TRUNK

                • BASIS

                  [ABSTRACT/CONCRETE]

                  [[COMMON/RARE]]

                  [DYNAMIC/STATIC]

                  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

                  1. The basic word is běn 本 "the trunk, the main part" (ant. mò 末 "marginal part") and this word refers to the crucial constituent of something in any sense.

                  [GENERAL], [STATIC]; [[COMMON]]

                  2. Duān 端 "beginning" (ant. mò 末 "marginal part") is current in the meaning "initial crucial element, initiating fundamental property", and this is a very philosophial subtle word which conceives of what is crucial as dynamically affecting the rest.

                  [ABSTRACT], [DYNAMIC]

                  3. Gēn 根 "the root from which things spring" (ant. miǎo 杪 "small twig") is often used together with běn 本, but can also by itself be used in metaphorical senses, but the word is much rarer than běn 本 in this meaning.

                  [STATIC]

                  4. Jī 基 is sometimes used in a literal sense of "foundation on which something rests", but the word is common in figurative senses as in "the solid foundations of the state".

                  [CONCRETE], [STATIC]

                  5. Zōng 宗 is ethereal and always abstract, sometimes even purely semantic in meaning.

                  [ABSTRACT], [STATIC]; [[RARE]]

                  6. Yīn 因 (ant. guǒ 果 "result") is causal in meaning and emphasises the dynamic causal link between the yīn 因 and whatever is based on it.

                  [GENERAL], [DYNAMIC]

                  Word relations
                • Contrast: (ROOT)柢/ROOT Dǐ 柢 refers specifically to the roots of a plant that grow straight down into the earth.
                • Oppos: (ROOT)木/TREE The current word for a tree is mù 木. In Shang times times this word was a count noun for trees, later it also referred to felled trees and in particular to timber as a material. Thus in Warring States times the special feature of this word is that it is a mass noun as well as a count noun.
                • Oppos: (ROOT)株/TRUNK Zhū 株 refers to a truncated trunk, and the root can be implied in the meaning of the word. See ROOT