Taxonomy of meanings for 衰:　　

  • 衰 shuāi (OC: srul MC: ʃʷɯi) 所追切 平 廣韻：【微也所追切三 】
    • DECLINE
      • nabprocessdecay, state of decline
      • vadNin decline
      • vadVdecreasingly
      • vichangebe in decline; get weaker, decay, decline
      • v[adN]state in declineCH
      • vt+prep+Ndecline in respect NDS
      • specific> WITHER
          • specific> DIE
            • viprocessdecline (to the point of dying)
        • specific: loss of force> WEAK
          • vadNchangedeclining (LOOK FOR EXPLICITLY INCHOATIVE EXAMPLES WHERE THE GLOSS "DECLINED" IS CLEARLY IMPOSSIBLE)
          • vibe in a current reduced state of weakness
          • vifigurativebecome weaker (of sounds etc)
          • nabfeatureweaknessCH
          • vtoNcausativeweakenCH
          • resultative> LAZY
            • specific> weakening of ilness> CURE
              • restultative: psychological> DISTRESS
                • nab.post-V{NUM}psychforms of decrepitude and distress
        • 衰 cuī (OC: tshrol MC: tʂʰʷɯiɛ) 楚危切 平 廣韻：【小也減也殺也楚危切又所危切二 】
          • DIFFERENT
            • vtoNcausativedifferentiateLZ
            • assess with differentiation> ASSES
              • exocentric: special> GARMENT
                • NPagentread zī zuī: someone wearing sackcloth mourning garment with hemmed sleeves
                • NPnonreferentialread zī zuī: sackclock mourning garment with hemmed sleeves
                • VPiactread zī zuī: respectfully wear mourning garments with hemmed sleeves LY 9.10
                • speicific> GARMENT FOR MOURNING
                  • nhempen mourning dress covering the upper part of the body
            • mathematical technical term> NUMBER
              • nabmathematical termCHEMLA 2003: coefficient
            • proper names: ARISTOCRATS OF JIN
            • =蓑 suō《集韻》蘇禾切，平戈心。

                Additional information about 衰

                說文解字: 【衰】，艸雨衣。秦謂之萆。从衣，象形。 【穌禾切】 【𠆏(𠆂𠱗)】、古文衰。

                  Criteria
                • FLOURISH

                  1. The current general word for flourishing or thriving of any kind, abstract or concrete is shèng 盛 (ant. shuāi 衰 "decline").

                  2. Chāng 昌 and xīng 興 (all ant. wáng 亡 "be ruined"), and lóng 隆 (ant. tì 替 "decline") refer primarily to the flourishing of political institutions and the like.

                  3. Xí 息, zhí 殖, and fān 蕃 refer specifically to the flourishing of flora and fauna.

                  4. The literal word for luxuriant growth of plants is mào 茂 (ant. diāo 凋 "dried up").

                  5. Róng 榮 (ant. kū 枯 "dried up") refers especially to splendid luxuriance of growth as an admirable sight.

                  6. Fēng 豐 (ant.* wěi 萎 "dried up and thin on the ground") refers to rich thick growth, often as an asset.

                  7. Fān 蕃 and yù 鬱 (mostly reduplicated yù yù 鬱鬱 ) refer to ample thick growth.

                  8. Fú shū 扶疏 is a poetic word referring to luxurious growth of plants.

                  NB: There is a remarkable abundance of terminology in this semantic field, and in many cases the distinctions are less than clear.

                • STRONG

                  1. The current general word for the temporary state of strength, physical or political, are qiáng 強 (ant. ruò 弱 "weak").

                  2. The typically nominal or adverbial lì 力 commonly refers to a permanent property of strength..

                  3. Yì 毅 (ant. nuò 懦 "weak") refers to inflexible and unshakeable firmness as well as strength.

                  4. Jìng 勁 (ant. léi 羸 "weak") and jìng 競 (ant. shuāi 衰 "reduced state, lack of energy") refers to strength mainly under the aspect of a physical or mental energy.

                  5. Zhuàng 壯 (ant. ruò 弱 "weak") refers to longish-term constitutional physical strength.

                  6. Jiàn 健 (ant. shuāi 衰 "in a reduced state, lacking energy") refers to temporary short-term constitutional strength which is the result of a good physical constitution. See HEALTHY

                • WEAK

                  1. The current general word for weakness of any physical or abstract kind, and of anything including states, persons, and animals is ruò 弱 (ant. qiáng 強 "strong").

                  2. Léi 羸 (ant. jiàn 健 "strong and healthy") typically refers to physical weakness in humans.

                  3. Bào 薄 (ant. zhuàng 壯 "strong and vigorous") can refer to a low or weak intensity of something.

                  4. Cuì 脆 / 膬 (ant. jiān 堅 "strong and hard") refers to physical weakness as a result of brittleness and a propensity to break easily.

                  5. Chí 弛 (ant. jiān 堅 "strong and hard") refers to weakness as a result of abstract or physical slackening.

                  6. Shuāi 衰 (ant. shèng 盛 "strong and flourishing") refers to the process of weakening that attends any kind of decline.

                  7. Hào 耗 (ant. kāng 康 "increasingly vigorous and healthy") refers to the process of weakening that results from using up available resources.

                  8. Huǎ3n 緩 (ant. jié 捷 "nimble and vigorous in one's effort") is somewhat marginal in the group but can refer to habitual weakness of effort through slowness and lack of urgent and decisive action.

                • GARMENT FOR MOURNING

                  1. The general term for all forms of mourning dress, including the garments themselves and everything worn on them, was sāng 喪, and this term designates such articles of clothing insofar as they are used for their purpose.

                  2. Cuī 衰／縗 refers specifically to the garment worn in mourning.

                  3. Dié 絰 refers to the belt of coarse hemp worn in mourning.

                  4. Cuī dié 衰絰 refers in a general way to all the gear that makes up mourning dress, and quite frequently to the wearing of such gear, and I suspect that these terms would also refer to mourning dresses that are stored and not currently used in ritual contexts, but this needs to be investigated..

                  Word relations
                • Result: (DECLINE)亡/DISAPPEAR The dominant word for ceasing to exist is wáng 亡 (and there is no early evidence for the reading wú 亡).
                • Ant: (WEAK)壯/STRONG Zhuàng 壯 (ant. ruò 弱 "weak") refers to longish-term constitutional physical strength.
                • Ant: (DECLINE)盛/FLOURISH The current general word for flourishing or thriving of any kind, abstract or concrete is shèng 盛 (ant. shuāi 衰 "decline").
                • Ant: (DECLINE)昌/FLOURISH Chāng 昌 and xīng 興 (all ant. wáng 亡 "be ruined"), and lóng 隆 (ant. tì 替 "decline") refer primarily to the flourishing of political institutions and the like.
                • Ant: (DECLINE)起/FLOURISH
                • Epithet: (DECLINE)世/GENERATION The dominant general word for a generation is shì 世, and this word has strong temporal connotations referring to the period of one generation, and the word has a certain syntactic flexibility. Sān shì 三世 refers to three generations.
                • Contrast: (DECLINE)廢/FAIL
                • Assoc: (DECLINE)倦/TIRED The general purpose word for communal exhaustion is pì 罷 (ant. zhuàng 壯 "in strong shape"); the general word for the state of exhaustion of an individual is juàn 倦.
                • Assoc: (WEAK)耗/POOR