Character: 奧
Modern (Beijing) reading: ào
Preclassic Old Chinese: ʔuk
Classic Old Chinese: ʔuk
Western Han Chinese: ʔǝuk
Eastern Han Chinese: ʔǝuk
Early Postclassic Chinese: ʔɨuk
Middle Postclassic Chinese: ʔuk
Late Postclassic Chinese: ʔuk
Middle Chinese: ʔük
English meaning : bay, cove (in bank of stream)
Russian meaning[s]: 1) глубокий; потайной; таинственный; 2) важный, основной; 3) юго-западный угол дома; внутренние покои; 4) свиной загон (хлев); 5) сокр. Австрия; [yù] закругление (берега)
Comments: Also read *ʔūk-s, MC ʔầw (FQ 烏到), Mand. ào 'bay; inside area'. Since Late Zhou the word started to obtain a more general meaning 'inside, interior', while the original meaning 'bay, cove' was more usually rendered with the character 澳. The latter is now also used as a shortened name for Australia.
Radical: 37
Four-angle index: 4905
Karlgren code: 1045 a
Vietnamese reading: úc
Shijing occurrences: 55.1, 55.2, 55.3
