Taxonomy of meanings for 虜:　　

  • 虜 lǔ (OC: ɡ-raaʔ MC: luo) 郎古切 上 廣韻：【虜掠又獲也服也 】
    • ARREST
      • nabactbeing taken prisoner; arrestation as prisoner [This is an occasional usage, but perhaps it is worth recording and classifying]
      • vt[oN]take prisoners
      • vtoNpassivebe taken prisoner
      • vtoNperfectivetake prisoner
    • BARBARIAN
      • npluralthe barbarians; barbarians
      • nadNbarbarian
    • ENEMY
      • nforeign enemy
    • PRISONER
      • nobjectcaptive, someone who is utterly dependent from or in the hand of someone else
      • nad.VtoNreference=objectas a prisoner
      • n(post-N){PRED}be a prisoner of the contextually determinate NCH
    • SLAVE
      • nwork-slave (who was often a foreigner and/or prisoner)
      • nabactbeing taken prisoner and made into a slave
    • VILLAIN
      • nscoundrel
    • ROB

      Additional information about 虜

      說文解字: 【虜】，獲也。从毌、从力，虍聲。 〔小徐本「虍」上有「從」。〕 【郎古切】

        Criteria
      • ARREST

        [CIVIL/MILITARY]

        [DIFFICULT/EASY]

        [DRAMATIC/UNDRAMATIC]

        [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

        [INFORMAL/OFFICIAL]

        [LASTING/TRANSITORY]

        1. The current general word for arresting someone or apprehending him for any reason whatever is zhí 執 (ant. shì 釋 "set free"), but this term typically has a rather bureaucratic flavour.

        [CIVIL], [OFFICIAL]

        2. Qín 擒 (ant zòng 縱 "let loose") refers in somewhat dramatic terms to managing to apprehend a person who might be trying to escape, often to taking a distinguished prisoner in military contexts.

        [DRAMATIC]

        3. Bǔ 捕 refers specifically to catching a criminal, sometimes to the catching of a common criminal. See also CATCH.

        [CIVIL], [OFFICIAL]

        4. Huò 獲 typically refers to managing to capture a person who is trying to escape or who is difficult to catch.

        [DIFFICULT], [DRAMATIC]

        5. Fú 俘 and lǔ 虜 refer bureaucratically and neutrally to taking prisoners of war.

        [LASTING], [MILITARY]

        6. Qiú 囚 (ant. shì 釋 "set free") refers specifically to detaining and imprisoning a person in a public prison.

        [LASTING], [OFFICIAL], [SPECIFIC]

        7. Jū 拘 is occasionally used as a bureaucratic term for holding someone legal detention.

        [CIVIL], [LASTING], [OFFICIAL]

        8. Dài 逮 refers specifically to the official apprehending or arresting of a presumed culprit.

        [CIVIL], [OFFICIAL]

      • ENEMY

        1. The general word for an enemy or opponent of any kind is dí 敵 (ant. yǒu 友 "friend") which can also often refer to mere competitors or adversaries.

        2. Kòu 寇 is an enemy of the state, often a foreigner.

        3. Chóu 讎 (ant. yǒu 友 "friend") emphasises the intense emotional nature of the conflict between the enemies concerned.

        4. Qiú 仇 "fiend" (ant. qīn 親 "someone close to one") refers to a mortal enemy with whom one has a serious feud.

        5. Lǔ 虜 is originally a foreign enemy who deserves to be taken prisoner, but the term comes to be used quite generally for an enemy of the state in Han times.

        6. Zéi 賊 emphasises the moral turpitude and decrepitude or the villainy of the enemy.

      • PRISONER

        1. The general term for a prisoner is qiú 囚, and this can refer to any person confined in a prison for any reason.

        2. Lǔ 虜 and fú 俘 refer to a prisoner of war who has been captured in battle.

        3. Tú 徒 is a prisoner who is not currently being detained in a prison, either because he is being transferred from one prison to another or because he has been released but is still regarded as a "former prisoner".

      • SLAVE

        1. The standard general word for a dependent low-status servant or slave is nú 奴, and this word became quite currrent in Han times.

        2. Yì 役 tends to focus on the hard labour involved.

        3. Lǔ 虜 focusses prototypically on the prisoner-origins of a slave.

        4. Lì 隸 refers to slaves in an administrative bureaucratic way, and prototypically these menial workers are in public employment, being thus of higher status than mere shepherds or stable-boys in the countryside.

        5. Zānghuò 臧獲 is the standard exampe of the name of a slave.

        Slavery and servant-hood not always easy to distinguish, and this is for very interesting social reasons. A scheme for the place of menials in the status system is systematised in a crucial ZUO Zhao 7 passage:

        故王臣公，公臣大夫，大夫臣士，士臣皁，皁臣輿，輿臣隸，隸臣僚，僚臣僕，僕臣臺。

        馬有圉，牛有牧，

        Word relations
      • Ant: (SLAVE)貴/NOBLE Guì 貴 (ant. jiàn 賤 "of low character") adds to the notion of high social status that of subjectively appreciated nobility of character. [HIGH-DEGREE], [PERSONAL], [SUBJECTIVE]
      • Assoc: (ARREST)係/ARREST
      • Assoc: (ARREST)獲/ARREST Huò 獲 typically refers to managing to capture a person who is trying to escape or who is difficult to catch. [DIFFICULT], [DRAMATIC]