紇
inferior silk, tassel, fringe
Strokes9
Readings
On'yomi
- コツ
- ゴチ
- ケツ
- ゲチ
Kun'yomi
—
Meaning
紇 centers on low-quality silk and the decorative trimmings made from it: tassels and fringes. The idea is silk that is not fine enough for main fabric, so it is used for ornamental edges.
Study
Etymology
紇 combines 糸 (silk) with 乞, which likely contributes the sound. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the structure suggests a phono-semantic compound where 乞 indicates the reading and 糸 specifies the material.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is 糸 (silk), and the right side 乞 looks like a person begging. Imagine a beggar wearing clothes trimmed with cheap, inferior silk tassels and fringes.
Reading mnemonic
For コツ, think of the coarse, inferior silk as being full of 'knots' (コツ). The tassels and fringes are made from this knotty, low-quality silk.