Taxonomy of meanings for 蹊:  

  • 蹊 xī (OC: ɡee MC: ɦei) 胡雞切 平 廣韻:【徑路 】
    • PATH
      • nsmall winding footpath; paths; shortcut
      • vtoNattitudinaltreat as a shortcut
      • viactmake a shortcut
    • TREAD ON
      • FOOTPRINT
        • WAY

          Additional information about 蹊

          說文解字: 【徯】,待也。从彳、奚聲。 【胡计切】 【蹊】,徯或从足。

            Criteria
          • PATH

            1. Perhaps the most general term for a path is jìng 徑, but the word refers specifically to a shortcut, whereas the rarer xī 蹊 refers more generally to any path that has been trampled up, by humans or by animals.

            2. Qiān mò 阡陌 are the ubiquitous mudpaths between fields ideally qiān 阡 going north-south and mò 陌 east-west, but this latter commentarial tradition would seem to be an idealising rationalisation.

            3. Lǒng 壟 is occasionally used to refer to the raised borders between fields.

            4. Mǔ 畝 is an earlier word than 壟 referring to the raised borders between fields, and by extension to the fields themselves.