Taxonomy of meanings for 漸:　　

  • 漸 jiān (OC: tsam MC: tsiɛm) 子廉切 平 廣韻：【入也漬也又慈染切 】
  • 漸 jiàn (OC: dzamʔ MC: dziɛm) 慈染切 上 廣韻：【漸次也進也稍也事之端先覩之始也地理志有漸江今之浙江也慈染切十 】
    • MOIST
      • vichangebecome (slowly) moist, be moistened
      • vtoNcausativemoisten
      • vtoNcausativebe dipped into
      • SOAK
        • vttoN1.+N2soak something in something else
        • vtt(oN1.) N2soak a contextually determinate object in N2LZ
        • GRADUALLY
          • nabprocessgradual development
          • vadVgradually, continuously
          • vi.red:adVgradually
          • vichangechange gradually; advance gradually; be a matter of gradual continuous development
          • euphemism: "gradually enter the other world">DIE
            • vifigurativedie DCD: 引申為歿，死亡。《文選·韋孟〈諷諫〉詩》
          • feature>SLOW
          • grammaticalised: after a while>SOON
              • grammaticalied>THEN
                • nominalised:PROGRESS
                  • vadNmaking gradual progress; continually progressing
                  • vichangemake gradual progress
          • RIVERS
            • =潛 delve into>INVESTIGATE
              • vtoNfigurativeread qia2n 潛delve into> delve deeply into so as to investigate
          • jiànINCREASE
            • vtoNincreaseLZ
            • vtoNpassivebe increasedLZ

          Additional information about 漸

          說文解字:

            Criteria
          • GRADUALLY

            1. The standard word for something happening gradually rather than abruptly is jiàn 漸.

            2. Shāo 稍 refers to something happening increasingly.

          • DEVELOPMENT

            漸 "gradual development" comes closest to this concept, as in 無漸 "without any gradual development" in LH 自紀

          • MOIST

            1. Shī 濕 refers to wetness as a property of surface or of the whole object.

            2. The current common word is rú 濡, and this word refers to being wet through and through.

            3. Zhān 沾 / 霑 refers to moistening by rain.

            4. Rùn 潤 refers to things that are mildly moistened (and look glossy).

            5. Jiàn 漸 refers to things getting gradually moistened.

            6. Wò 渥 is a poetic referring to something being wet on the outside.

            7. Jìn 浸 refers to water seeping into something so as to make it moist, and the word focusses not on something getting wet, but on the water seeping into it. The word is thus marginal in the group.