Taxonomy of meanings for 止:
- zhǐ (OC: kljɯʔ MC: tɕɨ) 諸市切 上 廣韻：【停也足也禮也息也待也留也諸市切十 】
- STOP
- nabactdesisting; ceasing to do what one was doing
- viactstop walking or running
- vt(oV[0])changestop, fail to go on doing what one was doing; desist
- viactdesist, cease; stop doing what one has been doing; not go or get through with a planned action
- viinchoativeget bogged down
- vt(+V[0])desist from doing what one was going to do
- vt(oN)stop a contextually determinate person
- vt(oN)N=humanstop a contextually determinate person
- vt(oN)N=nonrefstop the contextually determinate object (in good time)
- vtoNcausativecause to stop; put a stop to
- vtoNcausativecause to desist from an intended course of action
- vtoNcausativeget to cease, try to stop N doing what he does;
- vtoNcausativecause to stop up in the process of walking, bring to a halt
- vtoNcausativemiddle voice/passive: be stopped
- vtoNreflexive.自stop (oneself)
- vt(oN)deriveddecide not to do what one was going to doCH
- vtoNpassivebe stoppedCH
- vttoN.+VtoSconativetry to stop somebody by saying SDS
- vtoS止吾為俠"stop my being a Chinese Robin Hood": stop S from going onCH
- resultative> END
- vt prep Nend up in, end up withCH
- vtoNgo no further than N, stop at N-ingCH
- specific: one’s official work> RETIRE
- viactto stop one's service; withdraw from office and remain in retirement;
- zhǐ HINDER
- vtoNstop, hinder, prevent
- vtoNpassive
- vt(oN)
- vt[oN]hinder what should be hindered, typically crimes (禁止 "prohibitions hinder [illegal deeds]")LZ
- resultative> AVOID
- vt+V[0]avoid V-ing
- vt(+V[0]）avoid doing the understood action VCH
- avoiding behaviour> HABIT
- nabacthabitual comportment (particularly in the form of avoidances)
- in a place, resultative> REMAIN
- viactremain in a place or in an office
- vt(oN)stay with a contextually determinate object
- vtoNcausativecause (somebody) to stay where he is; not allow (somebody) to leave
- vt+prep+Nfigurativeremain permanently committed toCH
- nabpscychologicalpermanent basic moral commitmentCH
- vt+prep+Nremain at; remain with CH
- causative> ARREST
- nabactdetainment; arrestation
- vtoNmiddle voiceget detained; be taken prisoner; get captured
- vtoNdetain, arrest [note incidentally the similarity of semantic derivation "arrest" and 止!!!]
- specific> DWELL
- vispend the night
- vt(oN)spend the night in
- viderivedabstract: (in recitation) stay in place (not moving on quickly), dwell in one place/on one wordCH
- exhortative> INVITE
- vttoN.+V[0]pivotask to remain> invite (someone) to (stay for a time)
- subject:birds> ROOST
- vt+Nsette on, stay on
- subject:human> REST
- nabfeaturestillness
- viactbe at rest; take temporary abode; come to rest; be inactive, fail to engage in action
- vt+Nrest in a place N; take one's temporary abode in
- vt+prep+Nrest at N
- vt prep Nfigurativerest in, reside in, be positioned inLZ
- grammaticalised> ONLY
- vadVreference=objectonly the object
- =趾 FOOT
- n=趾 foot HANSHU: 斬左趾 "cut off the left foot".
- STOP
- zhǐ (OC: kljɯʔ MC: tɕɨ) 諸市切 上 廣韻：【停也足也禮也息也待也留也諸市切十 】
- STOP
- nabactdesisting; ceasing to do what one was doing
- viactstop walking or running
- vt(oV[0])changestop, fail to go on doing what one was doing; desist
- viactdesist, cease; stop doing what one has been doing; not go or get through with a planned action
- viinchoativeget bogged down
- vt(+V[0])desist from doing what one was going to do
- vt(oN)stop a contextually determinate person
- vt(oN)N=humanstop a contextually determinate person
- vt(oN)N=nonrefstop the contextually determinate object (in good time)
- vtoNcausativecause to stop; put a stop to
- vtoNcausativecause to desist from an intended course of action
- vtoNcausativeget to cease, try to stop N doing what he does;
- vtoNcausativecause to stop up in the process of walking, bring to a halt
- vtoNcausativemiddle voice/passive: be stopped
- vtoNreflexive.自stop (oneself)
- vt(oN)deriveddecide not to do what one was going to doCH
- vtoNpassivebe stoppedCH
- vttoN.+VtoSconativetry to stop somebody by saying SDS
- vtoS止吾為俠"stop my being a Chinese Robin Hood": stop S from going onCH
- resultative> END
- vt prep Nend up in, end up withCH
- vtoNgo no further than N, stop at N-ingCH
- specific: one’s official work> RETIRE
- viactto stop one's service; withdraw from office and remain in retirement;
- zhǐ HINDER
- vtoNstop, hinder, prevent
- vtoNpassive
- vt(oN)
- vt[oN]hinder what should be hindered, typically crimes (禁止 "prohibitions hinder [illegal deeds]")LZ
- resultative> AVOID
- vt+V[0]avoid V-ing
- vt(+V[0]）avoid doing the understood action VCH
- avoiding behaviour> HABIT
- nabacthabitual comportment (particularly in the form of avoidances)
- in a place, resultative> REMAIN
- viactremain in a place or in an office
- vt(oN)stay with a contextually determinate object
- vtoNcausativecause (somebody) to stay where he is; not allow (somebody) to leave
- vt+prep+Nfigurativeremain permanently committed toCH
- nabpscychologicalpermanent basic moral commitmentCH
- vt+prep+Nremain at; remain with CH
- causative> ARREST
- nabactdetainment; arrestation
- vtoNmiddle voiceget detained; be taken prisoner; get captured
- vtoNdetain, arrest [note incidentally the similarity of semantic derivation "arrest" and 止!!!]
- specific> DWELL
- vispend the night
- vt(oN)spend the night in
- viderivedabstract: (in recitation) stay in place (not moving on quickly), dwell in one place/on one wordCH
- exhortative> INVITE
- vttoN.+V[0]pivotask to remain> invite (someone) to (stay for a time)
- subject:birds> ROOST
- vt+Nsette on, stay on
- subject:human> REST
- nabfeaturestillness
- viactbe at rest; take temporary abode; come to rest; be inactive, fail to engage in action
- vt+Nrest in a place N; take one's temporary abode in
- vt+prep+Nrest at N
- vt prep Nfigurativerest in, reside in, be positioned inLZ
- grammaticalised> ONLY
- vadVreference=objectonly the object
- =趾 FOOT
- n=趾 foot HANSHU: 斬左趾 "cut off the left foot".
- STOP
- zhǐASPIRATION
- nabpsychtarget; aim
- zhǐREACH
- vt(oN)reach as far as the contextually determinate object; get to the contextually determinate object CS
Additional information about 止
說文解字: 【止】，下基也。 〔小徐本無「基」。〕 象艸木出有址，故以止爲足。凡止之屬皆从止。 【諸市切】
- Criteria
- STOP
1. The standard current word for ceasing in an activity is zhǐ 止 (ant. xíng 行 "carry on with"), and this word can to any concrete or abstract activity; the ceasing may be final or temporary.
2. Definitive discontinuation, often of inanimate processes, is yǐ 已 (ant. zuò 作 "break into action"). See FINISH.
3. Bà 罷 is to deliberately discontinue a course of action one is embarked on, particularly a military action.
4. Ceasing in a human activity, for a while, is xí 息 and the somewhat rarer xiū 休 (all ant. zuò 作 "break into action").
5. Jué 絕 (ant. jì 繼 "continue") is to disrupt one's current (human) activity, and fèi 廢 (ant. qín 勤 "continue to make a serioues effort") is to discontinue such an acitivity permanently.
6. Shě 舍 (often negated) is to relent in a certain activity.
7. Chuò 輟 (ant.* láo 勞 "put in a continued honest effort") is temporary discontinuation of human action.
8. Zhì 滯 can be used to refer to the involuntary discontinuation in an activity.
9. Xiē1 歇 refers to the discontinuation of a process (like that of worrying).
- ARISE
[GENERAL/SPECIFIC]
[HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]
[INCHOACTIVE/PERFECTIVE]
1. The most current general word for something arising is probably qǐ 起 (ant. zhǐ 止 "cease to exist").
[GENERAL]
2. Méng 萌 is inchoative and refers to the initial stage of arising.
[INCHOATIVE]
3. Shēng 生 (ant. miè 滅 "be extinguished (as dinosaurs)") refers to the coming into existence of something which did not previously exist.
[PERFECTIVE]
4. Xīng 興 (ant. xí 息 "cease to be virulent") and fā 發 refer to something moving from an "incubatory" state to a state of manifest "virulence" and full development.
[HIGH-DEGREE], [PERFECTIVE]
5. Chū 出 (NB: rù 入 cannot be used as an antonym for this meaning.) refers to something that pre-exists emerging or moving from an initial state of hiddenness or non-obviousness to a state of manifest visibility (in analogy with the basic meaning of the word "to come out").
[SPECIFIC]
6. Zuò 作 (ant.* xiē 歇 "cease to exist, cease to be active, cease to happen") typically refers to something happening or arising for the first time, but the word can also refer to the emergence of persons like sages.
[ORIGINAL], [SPECIFIC]
NB: This group needs to be viewed together with BEGIN, and the line between the two is by no means always clear.
- WALK
1. The current general word for walking is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "stay put").
2. Bù 步 (ant. zǒu 走 "run fast") refers to dignified slow pacing along.
3. Mài 邁 refers to walking or (sometimes even with abstract subjects like time) moving forward.
4. Jiàn 踐 focusses on the physical aspect of walking as stepping on something or walking across something.
- REMAIN
1. The current word for staying or remaining in one place is jū 居 (ant. xíng 行 "walk away").
2.Chǔ 處 (ant. yóu 游 "travel"), much rarer than jū 居, refers to being situated in one place rather than moving about, and the word, in this meaning, can refer to persons as well as things.
3. Zhǐ 止 is inchoative and refers to the coming to stop so as to remain in a certain place after movement.
4. Liú 留 (ant. lí 離 "get away from a place") refers to immobility in one place after one has already spent some time there.
5. Zhù 駐 can come to refer to staying in a place other than one's home.
6. Zhì 滯 refers to getting stuck in one place, being unable to leave.
- ACT
[AD-HOC/SYSTEMATIC]
[AIMLESS/PURPOSEFUL]
[ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]
[BASE/NOBLE]
[BASIC/MARGINAL]
[COMMENDATORY/DEROGATORY]
[CONATIVE/PERFECTIVE]
[DELIBERATE/INVOLUNTARY]
[GENERAL/SPECIFIC]
[HABITUAL/OCCASIONAL]
[HUMBLE/NOBLE]
[PHYSICAL/MENTAL]
[PRESCRIBED/SPONTANEOUS]
[PRIVATE/PUBLIC]
[RESPONSIBLE/UNACCOUNTABLE]
1. The current general word for any deliberate behaviour one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"), and this conduct is typically one engaged in on someone else's behalf.
[COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [PHYSICAL], [RESPONSIBLE]
2. Wéi 為 (ant. wú wéi 無為 "not engage in purposeful and result-orientated self-assertive action") focusses not on the act itself but primarily on the results achieved or aimed for.
[OCCASIONAL], [PURPOSEFUL]
3. Jū 居, when used in this meaning, focusses not on the results of one's actions, or on the effect of one's actions on others, but on the moral character of one's behaviour as such.
[HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE], [SYSTEMATIC]
4. Shì 事 (ant.* xián 閒 "take it easy") primarily focusses on action as part of the fulfilment of a duty imposed by one's station in life or a task one has set oneself.
[PRESCRIBED], [PUBLIC!], [RESPONSIBLE]
5. Gōng 躬 (ant.* shǐ rén 使人 "get others to...") focusses on a person of considerable social status engaging personally in a (typically public) action. See SELF.
[MARGINAL], [NOBLE], [OCCASIONAL], [PUBLIC!]
6. Wěi 偽 (ant. tiān 天 "natural") refers to artificial or faked human action. See PRETEND.
[ARTIFICIAL], [DEROGATORY!]
7. Dòng 動 (ant. jìng 靜 "decide to remain inactive") typically refers to spontaneous purposeful action and focusses almost philosophically on the autonomous decision of the agent to act.
[OCCASIONAL], [DELIBERATE]
8. Zuò 作 (ant. xí 息 "fail to take the initiative, fail to become active") refers to the taking of an initiative for an action which would not have occurred without such a deliberate initiative, and the word is naturally associated with the notion of creativity.
SPONTANEOUS, OCCASIONAL, PERFECTIVE
9. Jǔ 舉 refers specifically to the undertaking of a well-considered major act, particularly as part of a political strategy.
[DELIBERATE], [PURPOSEFUL], [RESPONSIBLE]
NB: Fēng 風 refers rather generally and abstractly to a person's or a group's way or pattern of behaviour, and the word is usually used as a noun. See CUSTOM
10. Jiā 加 typically refers to action insofar as it affects others.
11. Xí 習 refers to the habitual repeated practice of something in order to achieve proficiency in the kind of action concerned.
- FOOT
1. The general word for a foot is zú 足.
2. Zhǐ 趾／止 is an archaic word for the foot.
3. Fán 蹯／膰 refers to the paws of predatory animals.
4. Zhí 跖 (to be distinguished from the also anciently homophonous zhí 蹠 "jump over") is a (probably colloquial) exceedingly rare word for the sole of a foot.
5. Jiǎo 腳 is exceedingly rare in pre-Buddhist times.
- Word relations
- Result: (STOP)撫/TOUCH
- Ant: (STOP)強 / 彊/ENCOURAGE
- Ant: (STOP)起/ARISE
The most current general word for something arising is probably qǐ 起 (ant. zhǐ 止 "cease to exist"). [GENERAL] - Ant: (ARREST)釋/RELEASE
The most current general word for setting an animal or a person free is shì 釋 (ant. shōu 收 "hold prisoner"). - Ant: (REST)動/MOVE
The current general word for movement of any kind, psychological as well as physical, is dòng 動 (ant. jìng 靜 "remain still"). - Ant: (REST)行/ACT
The current general word for any deliberate action one may be held morally and/or administratively responsible for is xíng 行 (ant. zhǐ 止 "decide not to take action"). The nominal entries have the old reading xìng. [COMMENDATORY!], [GENERAL], [HABITUAL], [RESPONSIBLE] - Contrast: (STOP)已/STOP
Definitive discontinuation, often of inanimate processes, is yǐ 已 (ant. zuò 作 "break into action"). See FINISH. - Assoc: (STOP)禁/STOP
- Assoc: (REST)集/SIT
Jí 集 refers to birds settling in a certain place, often but not always in a flock. - Synon: (STOP)禁/STOP
- Oppos: (REST)進/ADVANCE
The standard general word for physically going or moving forward is jìn 進 (ant. tuì 退 "withdraw backwards"). >>GENERAL