Schuessler 1987: 568. Cf.: srut sraːt {率殺} 'kill (them) all' [ShangShu 29, 17]. Secondary synonym: grǝːm {咸} [Shuessler 1987: 666]. Both words are almost freely interchangeable in Early Zhou monuments, although grǝːm is also frequently attested in its original meaning ('to complete, finish, unite'). Ineligible items include: (a) bram {凡}, a junctive word with the specific meaning 'for every X that is...', 'of all the objects that...', 'in all the cases when...', etc.; (b) krǝːy {皆}, a verbal attribute that has the same syntactic properties as srut and grǝːm, but is still attested very infrequently in Early Zhou Chinese, usually in contexts where it can be translated as 'together', 'the two (of us)'.
HYDCD VIII: 266. This is unquestionably the most frequent and common equivalent for 'all' in all Classical Chinese literary monuments, syntactically adjunct to the main verb of the phrase, cf.: cǎːy wǝ̌ krǝːy wat pǝ kʰǎːy {左右皆曰不可} "(people) on the right and the left all say that it is impossible" [Mencius 2, 12]. There also exists a partial synonym, ta {諸} [HYDCD XI: 265], which occupies the more "conventional" position of nominal attribute, but its usage is, for the most part, bound: it is most often found in idiomatic collocations, such as ta gʰin {諸臣} 'all the officers' and ta goː {諸侯} 'zhuhou, all the hereditary princes', in which its function is rather a general marking of the plural number.
HYDCD VIII: 266. Cf.: ɲin ka˞y jǚ i {人皆與之} "all the people gave him", ɲin ka˞y pǝ si̯în {人皆不信} "all the people did not believe (him)" [Linji-lu 119]. Throughout the text, ka˞y is unquestionably the most frequent equivalent for the meaning 'all'; it is also occasionally encountered as part of the compound adverbial expression ka˞y-si̯it {皆悉} or si̯it-ka˞y {悉皆} 'altogether, completely'. The attributive morpheme ü {諸} [HYDCD XI: 265] is, like in Classical Chinese, generally encountered in bound usage, with a restricted number of nouns to which it is attached in specific contexts (e. g. ü fu̯aŋ {諸方}, literally 'all sides' = 'everywhere', etc.).
DEHCD 1985: 166; HYDCD X: 632. There is a large variety of words and expressions denoting the various aspects of the meaning 'all' in Modern Chinese, but tou1 is unquestionably the most basic and statistically frequent. It is telling that, although [DEHCD 1985] does not properly list tou1 as the equivalent of Russian весь 'all', the word is nevertheless present in the majority of textual examples, e. g. 所有的書都在這里 suǒ yǒu de shū dōu zài zhèlǐ "all the books are here", where the meaning 'all' is first expressed by the adjectival word group 所有的 su̯o3 you3 tɤ (literally 'the ones being had') and then by the adverbial 都 tou1. The meaning 'all' = 'totus' ('whole'), however, more generally corresponds to Modern Chinese 全 ɕü̯an2 [DEHCD 1985: 166].
Not attested. The graphic form of the character 灰 ('fire' + 'hand') for Classical Chinese m̥ǝ̄y 'ashes' suggests an archaic origin, yet neither the word nor the character are found earlier than the Late Zhou period.
HYDCD VII: 24. Somewhat dubious, since the word is not seen in active use until the 3rd - 2nd centuries B.C. (except for Zhuangzi, where it is frequently encountered as part of the idiom sǐy m̥ǝːy {死灰}, literally "dead ashes", more exact meaning unclear). Its only possible competition is ʒinh {燼} [HYDCD VII: 307], encountered in the meaning 'ashes' or 'embers' a few times in earlier monuments (Zuozhuan), but it is extremely rare, its exact semantics is dubious, its character is a complex phonoideogram (as opposed to the simple ideogram 灰), and it also seems to be morphologically derivable from ʒín {盡} 'to end, terminate' (thus, literally 'the remains (of fire)').
DEHCD 1985: 1370; HYDCD VII: 24. Also exists as a bisyllabic compound: hu̯ei1-ɕin4 {灰燼}, but the monosyllabic variant is quite permissible in colloquial usage.
HYDCD VIII: 519. Same word as 'skin' q.v.; apparently, no special generic term for 'bark' existed in Old Chinese. On the other hand, attestations of bʰay in the meaning 'bark' are not very frequent either; the clearest example comes from the Liji [40, 5] (ƛʰǐy lǝ̌ ti̯ah nak kǝk, mǝ kʰǎ gǝ bʰay {矢以柘若棘, 毋去其皮} "arrows are made of Cudrania wood or the jujube, without stripping their bark"), but this is somewhat too late for the period represented by the current wordlist. Nevertheless, there are no alternatives whatsoever. Predictably, in Hàn-era texts, the specialized compound form mʰoːk bʰay {木皮}, literally 'tree-skin', is occasionally encountered, but bʰay always remains the principal morpheme.
Schuessler 1987: 183. Cf.: Ła gǝ pʰa sǝm puk {予其敷心腹} "let me disclose my heart and belly" (= 'innermost thoughts') [ShangShu 16, 37]. Scarce attestation, but no serious reasons to doubt this choice for Early Zhou (and no alternatives).
HYDCD VI: 1350. Cf.: kʰǝ̌y wiy kʰǒː puk wʰǝ̌ krǝy kʰaːt tǝ gʰaːɕ {豈惟口腹有飢渴之害} "is it only the mouth and belly that suffer from hunger and thirst?" [Mencius 13, 27]. Although, technically, in most contexts the word could equally well be translated as 'stomach', the latter meaning is consistently expressed in Classical Chinese texts with the word wǝɕ {胃} (not attested, however, in [Lunyu] or [Mencius]).
HYDCD VI: 1170. Cf.: li̯ü ŋi̯ǝw dǒ li̯ǐ ʂa˞iŋ {驢牛肚里生} "you will be born in the belly of a donkey or a cow" [Linji-lu, 28]. This is the only context for dǒ in [Linji-lu], and, theoretically, it could also mean 'womb', but this meaning is not supported by the overall usage of this word in later and/or earlier texts. The archaic word for 'belly', fük {腹}, is also encountered once: fük ɲet si̯im mu̯ɑŋ {腹熱心忙}, literally "the belly is hot and the mind is busy" - an idiomatic expression that cannot be considered diagnostic in this case.
DEHCD 1985: 501; HYDCD VI: 1170. The old word fu4 {腹}, also listed in [DEHCD 1985], has no real colloquial usage in the meaning 'belly' other than idiomatic.
Schuessler 1987: 108. Numerous quasi-synonyms with approximate meanings like 'big', 'large', 'great' are attested in the early classics, but statistically, dʰaːɕ is still the most frequent choice.
HYDCD II: 1231. Cf.: dɑ̂y ʰa˞ik ci̯ɨ ᶚâŋ, ʰa˞w si̯ǐ lɑ̂w xɑ̂n ŋi̯ǚ {大策子上, 抄死老漢語} "upon a big bamboo plank, they copy the words of dead fellows" [Linji-lu 77]. Encountered passim as the default word for 'big' throughout the text of Linji-lu.
Schuessler 1987: 442. Cf.: tiːwʔ ƛʰaʔ liw kʰaʔ {鳥鼠攸去} "that (place) from which the birds and mice retreat" [Shijing 189,3] and multiple other examples. No other Early Zhou words ever pretend to expressing the general notion of 'bird'.
HYDCD XII: 1031. Cf.: tǐːw tǝ caŋ sǐy, gǝ mreŋ lʰi̯ǎy ʔǝːy {鳥之將死其鳴也哀} "when a bird is about to die, its singing is mournful" [Lunyu 8, 4]. This and other examples confirm that tǐːw is the generic term for any bird in Classical Chinese. There also exists a very frequent term gʰǝm {禽} [HYDCD I: 1587], which, however, refers quite specifically to 'game-bird' rather than 'bird' in general (and is, in all likelihood, itself a result of conversion from the verbal stem gʰǝm 'to capture'); general usage is more or less restricted to the idiomatic expression gʰǝm-tuh {禽獸} 'birds and beasts' (< 'hunting objects'; the word 獸 tuh 'beast' is also a result of conversion from tuh {狩} 'to hunt'). It should be noted that in Classical Chinese, tǐːw-tuh {鳥獸} 'birds and beasts' is at least equally frequent.
DEHCD 1985: 1814; HYDCD XII: 1031. The word ɕʰin2 {禽}, also quoted in [DEHCD 1985], is only used as part of idiomatic compound formations ('water-birds', 'singing birds', 'fowl', etc.).
Schuessler 1987: 129. Reconstruction is based on the Middle Chinese reading diet for this meaning (there are at least several other pronunciations corresponding to different usages). In Early Zhou Chinese, attested securely only in the Yijing, e. g.: pǝ diːt nin haŋʔ {不咥人享} "if he (= the tiger) does not bite the person, there will be joy" {Yijing 10, 1]. Obviously, this is scant evidence, but no other contexts are known at all with a verb that could be unequivocally interpreted as 'bite'.
HYDCD III: 527. This word is not attested in either Lunyu or Mencius, but it is nevertheless the most frequent and unambiguous equivalent for the meaning 'to bite' (usually said of animals, e. g. dogs) in many other Classical Chinese documents (Zuozhuan, Yanzi Chunqiu etc.). Numerous rare and semantically dubious synonyms are also attested, e. g. cʰrwaːɕ {嘬} 'to bite (of insects)' [Mencius]; cǝːp {噆} 'to bite, sting (of insects)' [Zhuangzi]. The only statistically and contextually serious competition for daɕ, however, may be ŋʰeːt {齧}, also encountered several times (Zhuangzi; Guanzi) in the meaning 'to bite' as applied to dogs. The distinction between daɕ and ŋʰeːt may have originally been dialectal (e. g. "Northern" vs. "Southern"), but it becomes seriously blurred in Hàn times (e. g. both terms are interchangeable in the Huainanzi), not to mention other synonyms, e. g. ʒʰeu̯k {嚼}, that also make their first appearance in that period. All in all, the item displays very erratic behavior.
HYDCD III: 342. The possibility of ŋǎ˞w 'to bite' (which first appears in written sources in the Táng era, but has since become the default Chinese equivalent for this meaning) as the basic equivalent in Linji-lu is only hinted at indirectly in the following context: xi̯âŋ ʔi̯it cʰiet fü̂n kʰôy ᶚâŋ lwɑ̂n ŋǎ˞w {向一切糞塊上亂咬} "they chaotically bite into any lump of dung" [Linji-lu 64], although the meaning here is actually closer to 'chew, gnaw (upon)' than to 'bite'. However, the polysemy 'chew' / 'bite' is fairly typical for different varieties of Chinese, so, given the circumstances, the word can be included with some doubts.
Schuessler 1987: 232. Although there are numerous words in Early Zhou Chinese traditionally interpreted as 'black', the most common Chinese designation for this color, s=mǝːk, is well represented during the epoch, and there is little basis to doubt its basic nature, cf. especially the following example: maːk kʰi̯ak pǝyʔ gʷaː, maːk smǝːk pǝyʔ ʔaː {莫赤匪狐莫黑匪烏} 'there is nothing redder than a fox, nothing blacker than a raven' {Shijing 41, 3}. The second most frequent term for 'black', gʷiːn {玄} [Schuessler 1987: 702], is never encountered in such diagnostic contexts; it can be surmised that its general meaning was 'dark', referring to deep shades of different colors rather than specifically 'black'.
HYDCD XII: 1322. The word is only attested once in the principal Confucian texts of the period: mʰenh ƛʰǝm m̥ǝːk {面深墨} "(his) face is of a deep black color" [Mencius 5, 2] (where 墨 mǝːk 'ink' in the orthodox orthography almost certainly stands for m̥ǝːk {黑} 'black'; in any case, both words are etymologically related). Statistically more frequent within these texts is the word crǝ {緇} [HYDCD IX: 928]; however, it is exclusively applied to clothing (usually within the compound crǝ ʔǝy {緇衣} 'black robes') and rather denotes a special technique of dyeing than natural black color. In most other texts usually dated to the Classical period, the word m̥ǝːk is quite frequent, and also functions as the most common antonym for braːk {白} 'white' q.v.
HYDCD XII: 1322. Within Linji-lu, only attested in compound expressions (e. g. xɤk ʔɤ̂m {黑暗} "(black) darkness"; xɤk mu̯ɑ̂n mu̯ɑ̂n {黑漫漫} "black all over", etc.), but there is no reason to suggest that the default word for 'black' in Middle Chinese could be any different.
HYDCD VIII: 1340. Attested only once in [Mencius 12, 27], in the idiomatic expression sreːp w̥iːt {歃血} 'to smear (lips) with blood' (the other case of attestation in the same text is a paraphrase from the Shangshu and therefore not diagnostic). However, this is statistically the most common term for 'blood' in all of Classical Chinese and beyond.
DEHCD 1985: 836; HYDCD VIII: 1340. Also exists in the bisyllabic variant ʆü̯e4-ye4 {血液}, literally "blood-liquid", but this is a "formal" term, used in restricted contexts; in most basic contexts, the monosyllabic variant is freely used in colloquial speech.
Not attested. Schuessler [1987: 206] quotes a possible occasion of kuːt {骨} in a Shang oracle bone inscription, but this is beyond Early Zhou, and, furthermore, one instance is somewhat dubious.
HYDCD XII: 394. Cf.: raːw gǝ kǝn ku̯ǝːt {勞其筋骨} "(Heaven) wears out his sinews and bones" [Mencius 12, 35]. This is clearly the most generic and unmarked term out of all the different designations for various kinds of bones in Classical Chinese. Its only potential competition may be the word grǝː {骸} [HYDCD XII: 406], which is frequently translated as 'bone(s)', but refers almost exclusively to human bones in contexts related to death and burial, i. e. 'skeleton', 'remains'. Of note is the fact that the compound grǝː ku̯ǝːt {骸骨} 'skeleton-bones' is very frequent, but not vice versa (ku̯ǝːt grǝː {骨骸} is only attested a few times in the entire corpus next to over a hundred encounters of grǝː ku̯ǝːt); this further suggests the interpretation of grǝː as a collective 'skeleton' and ku̯ǝːt as individual 'bone(s)'.
DEHCD 1985: 818; HYDCD XII: 402. The monosyllabic ku3 {骨} also exists in the modern language in various idiomatic usage, but "this is a bone" would be translated as zhè shì yī kuài gǔtou {這是一塊骨頭}.
Schuessler 1987: 756. Not attested directly in the meaning '(male) chest' in Early Zhou monuments, but figurative usage (e. g. kō ʔrǝŋ {鉤膺} 'hooked breastplates /for horses/' [Shi 261, 2]; verbal usage in the meaning 'to withstand, resist', etc.) suggests this item as the best candidate for 'chest' during this period.
HYDCD VI: 1251. Cf.: ŋ̥oŋ truŋ teŋh {胸中正} "(everything) is right within the breast" [Mencius 7, 15]. This word is not attested at all in Early Zhou, yet is statistically the most frequent and neutral equivalent for '(male) chest' in all of Classical Chinese.
HYDCD VI: 1251. Somewhat dubious; within Linji-lu, attested only once in the bound expression ǐ xi̯üŋ {指胸} "to point at (one's) breast" [Linji-lu 89], which may be an archaic formula. However, no other candidates are known.
DEHCD 1985: 372; HYDCD VI: 1251. The word exists as a monosyllable as well as part of bisyllabic compounds with more or less comparable statistic and situational distribution (ʆi̯oŋ1-bu4 {胸部} 'chest (as part of the body)', ʆi̯oŋ1-ɕi̯aŋ1 {胸腔} 'thorax', etc.). It is, however, quite distinct from ɻu3-faŋ3 {乳房} 'female breast'.
Schuessler 1987: 162. Cf.: raʔ bǝn gǝ sʰiɕ {旅焚其次} 'the traveller burns his camp' [Yijing 56, 3]. Several other Early Zhou verbs are also commonly glossed as 'burn', 'burn down', etc. (e. g. hoːŋ {烘}, also possibly 'to dry (over fire)'; reːwh {燎}, also possibly 'to sacrifice by fire'), but bǝn has the advantage of not having any additional semantic usages. It is also attested as early as Shang inscriptions, and its character - an ideogram consisting of 'fire' and 'wood' - is more archaic than the phonoideograms transcribing the other words.
HYDCD VII: 87. Cf.: kǎː sǒː bǝn rǝ̌m {瞽瞍焚廩} "Gu-sou burnt down the granary" [Mencius 9, 2] (can alternately be translated as "set fire to the granary", which is not relevant, since there does not seem to be any evidence for a specifically inchoative 'set fire to' in Classical Chinese). This seems to have been the default equivalent for 'to burn' (both transitive and intransitive) at the early stages of Classical Chinese. Monuments from the 3rd century onwards, however, show a steady increase in the usage of ŋ̥ew {燒} [HYDCD VII: 247], which, by Hàn times, seems to have become the new standard (cf. the following figures: 42 cases of bǝn vs. zero cases of ŋ̥ew in the Zuozhuan /5th century B.C./, but 17 cases of bǝn vs. 58 cases of ŋ̥ew in Shiji /1st century B.C./). The compound form bǝn-ŋ̥ew {焚燒} is also attested (Xunzi, Mozi, etc.), but very sporadically. The original meaning of ŋ̥ew may have been 'to singe': thus, its only attestation in the Zhuangzi is with 'horses' as object, obviously, not in the meaning 'to burn horses', but rather 'to brand horses'.
HYDCD VII: 247. Cf.: bǐ xu̯ɑ̌ lɤy ʂew {被火來燒} "you will be burned by fire" [Linji-lu 45]. The two independent occurrences of ʂew in Linji-lu are attested with a passive meaning ('to be burned'); in the required transitive meaning ('to burn smth.') this stem is only met within the binomial construction vün ʂew {焚燒}, in the phrase vün ʂew kieŋ zi̯ǎŋ {焚燒經像} "to burn writings and images" [Linji-lu 85]. Nevertheless, since it is ʂew and not vün that serves as the common invariant in all cases (vün is not attested on its own), it is safe to assume that in this variety of Middle Chinese the basic meaning 'to burn' was primarily associated with ʂew (an assumption that agrees with the notes on 'burn' in Classical Chinese q.v.).
DEHCD 1985: 499; HYDCD VII: 247. The monosyllabic variant of this word is used primarily in stable idiomatic expressions, e. g. ʂao1-ʰai1 {燒柴} "to burn wood", ʂao1-tʰan4 {燒炭} "to burn coal", etc. In less idiomatic contexts, one of several bisyllabic expressions is used instead, such as the archaic form fen2-ʂao1 {焚燒} or ʂao1-hu̯ei1 {燒燬}. Since the morpheme ʂao1 is the common ingredient in all of these forms, it should be accepted as the most basic equivalent of the meaning 'burn' in Modern Chinese.
Li 1998: 154. The root morpheme ci̯au1 {燒} is attested only in compound formations. Another possible option for the meaning "to burn (tr.)" could be laŋ2{爁} [Li 1998: 185].
Schuessler 1987: 818. Slightly dubious; in Early Zhou, the word is usually met as part of the binome ɕruːʔ ŋraː {爪牙} 'claws and teeth', i. e. soldiers as 'defenders' [Shi 185, 1], in which both words individually refer to the corresponding animal body parts. Considering, however, that the same word is clearly used to denote human fingernails in late-period Classical Chinese, and that no better candidate for 'fingernail' is to be found in Early Zhou, we may surmise that the meanings 'claw' and 'nail' were probably not differentiated during this period.
HYDCD VI: 1101. The word is not attested in early Confucian documents, and its most frequent usage in other texts is in the meaning 'claw' (of birds or animals); notable attestations in the meaning 'fingernail(s) / toenail(s)' are in the Hàn-era parts of the Liji (although even there the word is more often found in predicative use, e. g. crǔː cok {爪足} 'to trim one's toenails' (literally 'to toenail one's feet'). No alternate candidates for the meaning 'nail' are, however, known throughout the entire period.
Schuessler 1987: 800. Cf.: ʔraŋ ʔraŋ braːk wʰǝn {英英白雲} "bright are the white clouds" [Shijing 229, 2]. This is clearly the original word for 'cloud', not only because of the confirming contexts, but also because of the archaic form of the pictographic character (originally written as simply 云).
HYDCD XI: 632. Cf.: tʰiːn lu nan caːk wʰǝn {天油然作雲} "Heaven produces dense clouds" [Mencius 1, 6]. No serious competition for this word in any Classical Chinese monuments.
DEHCD 1985: 1181; HYDCD XI: 632. Also exists as a bisyllabic compound: yün2-cʰai3 {雲彩}, literally 'cloud-variegation', but more often used in the original monosyllabic form.
Schuessler 1987: 222. This is the most frequent and seemingly neutral adjective expressing the basic meaning 'cold' in Early Zhou. Several other quasi-synonyms, such as rʰat {冽} [ibid.: 384] or 淒 sʰǝːy [ibid.: 467], are met only occasionally in poetic literature and are likely to represent marked high-style equivalents.
HYDCD III: 1542. Cf.: sw̥aç gaːn {歲寒} "the year is (becomes) cold" [Lunyu 9, 28]. Also frequently encountered in the nominal function (e. g. in combinations with krǝy {飢} 'hunger'), and occasionally in the figurative meaning 'cold' (illness) [Mencius]. Typically antonymous to ŋet {熱} 'hot' q.v.
HYDCD II: 401. Cf.: xip lǎ˞iŋ ʰʰi̯î w̃ü ʔi̯ek {吸冷氣無益} "to breathe in cold air will be of no use" [Linji-lu 88]. The old word ɣɑn {寒} is only met once in Linji-lu, within the idiomatic expression ɣɑn zi̯üŋ {寒松} "winter pine" [Linji-lu 143], indicating that it must have already switched to the more modern usage in the meaning 'seasonal cold', 'wintertime'.
DEHCD 1985: 2480; HYDCD II: 401. The compound form han2-lɤŋ3 {寒冷}, combining the "old" term for 'cold' with the "new" one, is rarely used in colloquial speech.
HYDCD I: 1296. Cf.: ŋʰǎːy cʰi̯ǎ wǎŋ kēnh, Lǝy-cǝ̌ pǝ rǝː {我且往見, 夷子不來} "I will go see (him), Master Yi will not come (to me)" [Mencius 5, 5] (one of numerous examples that illustrate fairly well the basic opposition between rǝː {來} 'come' and wǎŋ {往} 'go' q.v. in Classical Chinese).
Schuessler 1987: 578. The most basic equivalent for 'die' since Shang; we do not list the numerous euphemisms and stylistic variations here due to their irrelevance.
HYDCD V: 146. Cf.: nin tǝ caŋ sǐy, gǝ ŋan lʰi̯ǎy dǎn {人之將死, 其言也善} "when someone is going to die, his speech is good" [Lunyu 8, 4]. Although an elaborate hierarchical system of polite equivalents for the meaning 'to die' existed throughout Classical Chinese (e. g. pǝːŋ {崩} 'to die' (of a ruler), literally 'to collapse'; sm̥ǝːŋ {薨} 'to die' (of a prince), etc.), the most basic and neutral term has always been sǐy (its usage may be markedly impolite/rude only next to official titles; a simple nin sǐy {人死} is not to be interpreted as 'someone kicked the bucket', etc., but merely as 'someone has died').
DEHCD 1985: 2375; HYDCD V: 146. The composite synonym sɨ3-waŋ2 {死亡} (literally 'to die-disappear') is also listed in [DEHCD 1985], but it is a "formal" term, not really used in colloquial speech.
Schuessler 1987: 500. A few other words are found denoting different kinds of dogs, e. g. mroːŋ {ʰʡ} 'shaggy dog' [ibid.: 403], but kʰʷiːnʔ is clearly the basic term, well attested already in Shang inscriptions.
HYDCD V: 1. Cf.: hlǎː preːwh tǝ kʰu̯aːk lu kʰu̯ǐːn laŋ tǝ kʰu̯aːk {虎豹之鞹猶犬羊之鞹} "the hide of a tiger or leopard is like the hide of a dog or sheep" [Lunyu 12, 8]; kʰu̯ǐːn tǝ seŋh lu ŋwǝ tǝ seŋh {犬之�撋Sдǯдзйʰ} "the nature of a dog is like the nature of a cow" [Mencius 11, 3]. The semantic relationship between kʰu̯ǐːn 'dog' and kǒː {狗} id. [HYDCD V: 36] in Classical Chinese is a very complex one. Broadly speaking, there took place a gradual replacement process of the former by the latter: Early Zhou Chinese has no evidence whatsoever for kǒː, whereas in Hàn-era texts kǒː has quite firmly replaced kʰu̯ǐːn as the main equivalent for 'dog' (although kʰu̯ǐːn still remains in frequent use). The problem is in establishing the more exact chronology and character of the replacement. In Lunyu, there are 2 attestations for kʰu̯ǐːn and none for kǒː. In Mencius, there are already 4 cases of kǒː vs. 6 cases of kʰu̯ǐːn, and it may be seen that kʰu̯ǐːn is more willingly employed within the idiom kʰu̯ǐːn mrǎː {犬馬} 'dogs and horses' (i. e. domestic animals used for hunting), whereas kǒː is more often listed alongside other ƛʰuk {畜} 'domestic animals' such as 'chickens' and 'pigs'; this suggests the original introduction of kǒː to specifically denote dogs bred for meat rather than hunting dogs-kʰu̯ǐːn. Of significant importance is one of Hui Shi's famous paradoxes: kǒː pǝy kʰu̯ǐːn {狗非犬} "a dog-kǒː is not a dog-kʰu̯ǐːn" [Zhuangzi 3, 11, 7], which, since it is a paradox, should suggest that normally, a kǒː is a subspecies of kʰu̯ǐːn (not vice versa, analogous to the even more famous "a white horse is not a horse"). This context may have given rise to the occasional lexicographic interpretation of kǒː as 'puppy' (along with an ambiguous entry in the Erya), but such an interpretation is not really supported by any contexts at all (including Zhuangzi itself, where kǒː quite explicitly and frequently refers to grown-up dogs). Since our list is targeted at Early Classical Chinese rather than Late Classical (3rd to 1st centuries B.C.), we prefer to include kʰu̯ǐːn as the principal entry and place the definitive replacement of it by kǒː (originally 'a special breed of dog', possibly for eating) around the 3rd century.
Late Middle Chinese:
Not attested in the text of Linji-lu. The colloquial term for 'dog' in Middle Chinese, in all likelihood, was kɤ̂w {狗} [HYDCD V: 36].
DEHCD 1985: 2119; HYDCD V: 36. The old word ɕʰü̯an3 {犬}, despite being mentioned as one of the equivalents for 'dog' in [DEHCD 1985], is not in use in colloquial speech.
HYDCD XII: 504. Cf.: haŋ nin ʔǝ̌m cǝ̌w {鄉人飲酒} "the villagers were drinking wine" [Lunyu 10, 10]. Passim in all Classical Chinese texts.
Late Middle Chinese:
Not attested in the text of Linji-lu. In one context, the idiomatic expression "to drink tea" is rendered as kʰiek ɖa˞ {喫茶}, literally "to eat tea"; however, this single context is hardly sufficient to suppose that the dialect of Linji-lu did not distinguish between 'eat' and 'drink' (this distinction is normally characteristic of most forms of Chinese), so we prefer to leave the slot empty.
Schuessler 1987: 187. Slightly dubious, since there are no truly diagnostic contexts for this word in Early Zhou (e. g. 'dry clothes', 'dry surface', etc.); most of the time it is encountered in the meaning 'dried (of food, meat)', e. g. gʰar nʰuk {乾肉} 'dried meat' [Yijing 21, 5], gʰar goː {乾餱} 'dried provisions' [Shijing 165, 5]. Quasi-synonyms may include grat {竭} 'to dry up' [Schuessler 1987: 310] and hǝy {晞} 'to dry in the sun' [Schuessler 1987: 654]. Still, the combination of internal and external factors speaks in favor of gʰar as the default word for 'dry' in Early Zhou.
HYDCD I: 784. As in Early Zhou, diagnostic contexts conveying the required meaning 'dry' = 'devoid of extra moisture' (rather than 'dried, withered' = 'devoid of regular moisture') are very hard to come by; they are completely absent in either Lunyu or Mencius, but cf.: paŋ caŋ pʰay pat nǝ gʰan {方將被髮而乾} "(he was) just going to spread out his hair to dry" [Zhuangzi, 2, 14, 4]. Ineligible pseudo-synonyms include kʰǎːw {槁} 'dry, withered' (of plants), saːwh {燥} 'dry, scorched' (of earth, weather, as if by fire), gaːk {涸} 'dried up' (of a body of water) and quite a few other, much more rare, words.
HYDCD I: 784. Highly dubious. Within the text of Linji-lu, attested only once in the idiomatic expression kɑn ʂǐ gi̯u̯ǝt {乾屎橛} "wooden bar for maintaining personal hygiene", literally "shit-drying wood-piece" (not only is the whole compound of an idiomatic nature, but even the literal meaning of the word is that of an active verb rather than the required adjectival use). On the other hand, there is no direct or indirect evidence for any other word functioning as the default equivalent for 'dry' in Middle Chinese. We tentatively accept kɑn into the wordlist.
DEHCD 1985: 2227; HYDCD I: 784. The word exists both on its own and as part of various compounds with slight semantic differences, e. g. kan1-cao4 {乾燥} (of dried up / withered objects), kan1-pa1 {乾巴} (the second component is desemanticized), etc.
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