offering; sacrificial offering
Archaic term for an offering made to gods or the emperor, often a food or animal sacrifice.
Rare, archaic use for a gift, especially one given to a superior.
Figurative use for a person or thing sacrificed for a cause; often appears in set phrases like 犠牲 (ぎせい) in modern Japanese, but 贄 can carry a more literary or archaic tone.
He became a sacrifice of war.
The Kojiki records rituals in which offerings are presented to the gods.
In old documents, 贄 is sometimes used to mean a gift.
living sacrifice; sacrificial offering · victim; scapegoat
shrike's larder; impaled prey · first offering of the season
Standard kanji spelling for this word.
Alternate kanji form; less common than 贄.
The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji 贄 is conventionally associated with offerings and sacrifices.