Character: 右
Modern (Beijing) reading: yòu
Preclassic Old Chinese: wǝʔ
Classic Old Chinese: wǝ́
Western Han Chinese: wǝ́
Eastern Han Chinese: wǝ́
Early Postclassic Chinese: wíw
Middle Postclassic Chinese: wǝ́w
Late Postclassic Chinese: wǝ́w
Middle Chinese: ɦǝ́w
English meaning : be right (side), be to the right
Russian meaning[s]: 1) правая сторона; правый; направо; 2) вышеизложенный, ранее упомянутый (в тексте); 3) почитать, высоко ценить, придавать значение; содействовать, помогать; 4) сильный; 5) запад; западный; 6) второй
Shuowen gloss: 助也.從口又.
Comments: The concept of 'right' (as well as 'left'!) in Chinese is closely connected with 'help, assist': we thus have related or identical words 佑 wǝʔ-s (MC ɦǝ̀w, Mand. yòu) 'to aid, support' (this word has even transferred its 去聲 to 右 which otherwise should have been read MC ɦǝ́w, Mand. yǒu), 友 wǝʔ (MC ɦǝ́w, Mand. yǒu with regular 上聲) 'friend'. All these words have reflexes of *w- (not *wh-) in Min dialects: cf. 右,佑 > Xiamen iu6, Chaozhou iu4, Fuzhou eu6, Jianou iu6, 友 > Xiamen, Chaozhou, Fuzhou iu3.
Radical: 30
Four-angle index: 1108
Vietnamese reading: hũ'u
Shijing occurrences: 1.2, 38.3
