animal sacrifice, offering
牲 centers on a living creature offered in ritual: an animal sacrifice or ceremonial offering.
牲 combines 牜 (cow, animal) with 生 (life, living), suggesting a living animal used as a sacrifice.
A cow 牜 is alive 生, but it is being prepared as an offering. Picture a living animal chosen for a ritual sacrifice.
For セイ, imagine a sacred animal sacrifice being offered to the sun (太陽, たいよう) on a holy day: the sun's rays (セイ) shine down on the offering.
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sacrifice
at all costs; whatever the price; would give anything
atomic bomb victim
war victim
casualty
to be sacrificed; to become a victim (of); to fall victim (to); to lose one's life
to make sacrifices for; to pay dearly for
sacrifice bunt
sacrifice fly
sacrifice (bunt or fly)
self-sacrificing
victim (esp. someone killed); casualty
to claim victims; to leave casualties
to claim victims; to cause casualties
self-sacrifice; self-renunciation