Taxonomy of meanings for 獨:　　

  • dú (OC: dooɡ MC: duk) 徒谷切 入 廣韻：【説文曰犬相得而鬬也羊爲羣犬爲獨一曰獨𤞞獸名如虎白身豕鬛馬尾出北嚻山𤞞音欲亦單獨又虜複姓有獨孤氏後魏書云西方獨孤渾氏後改爲杜氏徒谷切三十 】
    • ALONE
      • vadNquantifierindependent; single, non-double; separate (action)
      • vadVnegative(negatively:) alone, isolated; unaided by others; off your own bat; on your own initiative
      • vadVpositiveas the only one; all on one's own, independently, relying on oneself only
      • vibe alone
      • nabpsychologicalindependent stance; independent orientationCH
      • vad.V1adV2be the only one to V1-wise to V2CH
      • personal> PRIVATE
        • vadVprivately; personally; in one's private capacityCH
      • feature> INDEPENDENT
        • vadVidiosyncratically; uniquely;autonomously; independently, on one's own accord, all on one's own initiative
        • vi
        • against expectation> INSIST
          • vadVused adverbially, meaning something like "make a point of, insist"CH
        • and independent> FREE
          • nabstativestate of free independence
          • vadNindependent
          • vadVindependently, without regard to others
          • vibe self-reliant; independent
          • singularly> SPECIAL
            • vadVsingularly, especially, particularlyCH
            • unique> EXCELLENT
              • vibe unique in talents; be unmatched
      • psychological> LONELY
        • vifeel alone
        • because of death of relative> BEREAVED
          • nplurchildless persons
      • grammaticalised> ONLY
        • vadN.adVonly N V-s
        • vadVsubjectonly in this case; as the only one, as the only subject of the V
        • vadVobjectonly the object
        • vtoNhave only (one quality etc)
        • action:focus only on> CONCENTRATE
          • nabactmoral concentration (XUN)LZ
          • viactbe morally concentrated (XUN)LZ
          • vadVin a concentrated way (XUN)LZ
          • vtoNto concentrate on N, to be completely morally concentrated on N (XUN)LZ
      • grammaticalised> MODAL PARTICLES
        • padVGerman: "etwa"> marker of rhetorical questions inviting or suggesting/presupposing a negative answer, derived from the meaning "as the only person"
        • interrogative> QUESTION PARTICLES
          • padVrhetoricalmarker of rhetorical questions, expected answer: "no!"CH
    • MONKEY
      • nmonkey, taller than but similar to the 猿

    Additional information about 獨

    說文解字: 【獨】，犬相得而鬭也。 〔小徐本「鬬」作「鬥」。〕 从犬、蜀聲。羊爲羣，犬爲獨也。一曰：北嚻山有獨𤞞獸，如虎，白身，豕鬣，尾如馬。 【徒谷切】

      Criteria
    • ALONE

      [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

      [NEGATIVE/POSITIVE]

      1. Dān 單 (ant. qún 群 "in a group") has no emotional nuances and simply refers to the single member of a set.

      [GENERAL]

      2. Dú 獨 (ant. ǒu 偶 "as a pair") usually has no nuances of loneliness, but can sometimes come to connote an intense feeling of personal uniqueness. (LAO)

      [GENERAL], [NEGATIVE!]

      3. Gū 孤 (ant. zhòng 眾 "as a large group", but this lacks the emotional nuance of the counterpart) tends to connote feelings of loneliness and/or of being bereaved or suffering under the absence of associates in the place where one is.

      [NEGATIVE+]

      4. Tè 特 "alone" (etymologically related to dān 單 ) is abstract and conceptual and often emphasises the positively valued absence of other members in a general set.

      [POSITIVE!]

      5. Guǎ 寡 refers to the state of being alone ore bereaved which is currently referred to in polite speech by rulers. See also BEREAVED.

      [NEGATIVE]

    • MANY

      1. The dominant word referring to numerousness and a large quantity of a stuff is duō 多 (ant. shǎo 少 ).

      2. Zhòng 眾 (ant. guǎ 寡 "few") and zhū 諸 refer to a large number of items of a certain kind.

      3. Shù 庶 (ant. shǎo 少 "few") refers to a large number of typically animate and preferably human beings.

      4. Fēn 紛 and the rarer yún yún 紜紜 refer to a confusing assembly of many things.

      5. Shù 數 (ant.* dú 獨 "the only one" or * dān 單 ) refers to a fairly large number of things of a specified kind.

      6. Fán 繁 refers to a large number of proliferating things.

      7. Zhēng 烝 is a poetic word characterising the large size of a population.

    • KNOCK

      1. A general word for knocking against something, typically so as to produce a sound, is kòu 叩.

      2. Zhuàng 撞 is to knock hard against something (e.g. a bell), and it is hard to see how this is different in meaning from jī 擊 "knock"

      3. Bó 搏 is to tap against (e.g. one's thighs).

      4. Pāi 拍 (HF: 一手獨拍 "one hand clapping alone") refers specifically to the beating or clapping of a surface, often for the purpose of making a sound.

    • BEREAVED

      [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

      1. Guǎ 寡 is the general word referring to a person whose close relatives, typically parents at an advanced age, but also spouses, have died.

      [SPECIFIC]

      2. Dú 獨 refers to a childless person at an age where he or she should have children to rely.

      [SPECIFIC]

      3. Gū guǎ 孤寡 refers to the bereaved in general, and those whom they have lost tends to be of their own generation or above.

      [SPECIFIC]

      4. Gū dú 孤獨 refers in general to those who have no members of their family to turn to for support.

      [SPECIFIC]