Taxonomy of meanings for 槁:　　

  • 槁 gǎo (OC: koowʔ MC: kɑu) 古老切 上 廣韻：【 】
  • 槁 gǎo (OC: khoowʔ MC: kʰɑu) 苦浩切 上 廣韻：【木枯也説文作槀 】
    • DRY
      • vadNshrivelled
      • vichangeturn dry
    • ROTTEN
      • vichangerot away; start rotting away
    • WITHER
      • nsubjectwhat is withered and dry
      • vadNwithered, dried (of wood, earth, fish, skull)
      • vichangeto wither, to dry up (and die)
    • SLIM
      • STRIKE
        • DESTROY

          Additional information about 槁

          說文解字:

            Criteria
          • DRY

            1. The common general term for dryness is zào 燥 (ant. shī 濕 "wet").

            2. Gǎo 槁 and kū 枯 (ant. rùn 潤 "lush") are common words referring specifically to dryness of trees and sometimes other plants.

            3. Hé/hào 涸 (ant. mǎn 滿 "full of water") views dryness as the result of a process of dissication.

            4. Gān 乾 (ant. shī 濕 "wet") focusses on the striking and complete absence of liquid.

            5. Jié 渴 merely emphasises insufficient water supply or exhaustion of water supplies.

            6. Jiāo 焦 adds to the notion of dryness that of exceesive heat.

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          • WITHER

            1. The current general word for anything drying up or withering down, also anything like fish which because of lack of water starts rotting, is kū 枯 (ant. rùn 潤 "moist and lush" and róng 榮 "flourish and thrive").

            2. Gǎo 槁 refers specifically to the withering of plants, or to their withered state. The combination kū gǎo 枯槁 is idiomatic.

            3. Wěi 萎 (ant. shèng 盛 "rich and flourishing") refers to plants (and in a transferred usually permanent sense male sexual organs!) shrivilling up and drying out.

            4. Diāo 凋 (ant. mào 茂 "be flourishing") refers to whole plants withering and losing their leaves as a result, but the word may also refer to the loss of leaved because of frost.

            5. Luò 落 refers abstractly and colourlessly to trees losing their leaves.

            6. Líng 零 refers in a more dramatic way to plants other than trees losing their leaves.

            Word relations
          • Subject: (DRY)苗/SPROUT
          • Assoc: (DRY)枯 / 枯㱠/DRY Gǎo 槁 and kū 枯 (ant. rùn 潤 "lush") are common words referring specifically to dryness of trees and sometimes other plants.