索

索 (Kangxi radical 120, 糸+4, 10 strokes, cangjie input 十月女戈火 (JBVIF), four-corner 4090₃, composition ⿳十冖糸)

• 嗦 㮦 溹 䅴 䌇 鎍(𫔅) 䞽 䖛 𠋲 𭝻 𢱢 𤌘 𥻨 𧎳 𧛻 𩌈 𬵠 𪍟 𭅬 𩘝(𩙭) 𫦎 𭮹 𮭈 𪟹 𦅕 𦃆 𦆽 𤸴 𡩡 𥰼 𦵫 𩄜 𩮛

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 918, character 16
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 27306
• Dae Jaweon: page 1349, character 5
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3369, character 9
• Unihan data for U+7D22

• Unihan data for U+F96A

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 糸 (“thread”) + 𣎳 (“strip fibres off a hemp stalk”). Threads (rope) being removed from a fabric.

糸 visually represents the middle interior of the small seal script form, whereas 𣎳 is the three-pointed top part and the left and right lines.

From Austroasiatic; compare Proto-Vietic *ɟaːk (“rope”) (> Vietnamese chạc), Mon ဇုက် (“string; cord; rope; lashing; creeper”) (Schuessler, 2007).

索

1. rope; cable
2. (Teochew) to climb; to clamber
3. (mahjong, regional) bamboo tile

Ultimately Austroasiatic; compare Khmer ស (sɑɑ, “white; to show something clearly”); cognate with 素 (OC *saːs, “colourless; plain”) (Schuessler, 2007).

索

1. to search; to look for; to inquire into
2. to request; to demand
3. (literary) alone; solitary
4. (literary) uninteresting; dull; insipid

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

索

1. a surname

索

1. (Cantonese) to absorb
2. (Cantonese) to sniff; to smell

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “From 嗍, 欶?”)

索

1. (Cantonese, of a female) beautiful; pretty; hot; sexually attractive

• “索”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.

(Jōyō kanji)

1. string, thread (なわ, つな)^[1]
2. search, look for (もとめる, さがす)
3. alone; solitary

• Go-on: しゃく (shaku)、さく (saku, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: さく (saku, Jōyō)
• Kun: なわ (nawa, 索)^{←なは (nafa, 索, historical)}、つな (tsuna, 索)、もとめる (motomeru, 索める)、さがす (sagasu, 索す)

• 検索(けんさく) (kensaku): search, look up, retrieve
• 索引(さくいん) (sakuin): index

From Middle Chinese 索 (MC srjaek|sreak). Recorded as Middle Korean ᄉᆡᆨ〮 (Yale: sóyk) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰɛk̚] ~ [sʰe̞k̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [색/섹]

索 (eumhun 찾을 색 (chajeul saek))

1. hanja form^? of 색 (“to search”)
2. hanja form^? of 색 (“to request; to demand”)
3. hanja form^? of 색 (“to inquire”)

From Middle Chinese 索 (MC sak). Recorded as Middle Korean 삭〮 (sák) (Yale: sák) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [sʰa̠k̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [삭]

索 (eumhun 노 삭 (no sak))

1. hanja form^? of 삭 (“rope; cable”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [2]

索: Hán Việt readings: sách^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}, tác^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}
索: Nôm readings: tác^{[1][2][3][4][6][7][8]}, sách^[1], tách^[1], xách^[3]

1. chữ Hán form of sách
   1. rope; cable
   2. (in compounds) to search; to request
2. chữ Nôm form of tác
   1. (obsolete) age
      • Lạc An cư sĩ (樂安居士 "Jolly and Tranquil Hermit"), 芻蕘對話 Sô Nghiêu đối thoại ( "Dialogue between the Grassmower and Firewood-Gatherer"); 1870 version, 3a

        意羅計侶索𨕭
        窒潙墨󱎾買𢧚蹺隊

        Ấy là kể lứa tác trên,
        Rất vời mực thước mới nên theo đòi.

        That means: even among the older age groups
        One should emulate only the very exemplary.

      • 19th century, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Tale of Lục Vân Tiên, 1916 Nôm version, lines 443-444

        户裴𠸜儉索澄堆𨑮

        Họ Bùi tên Kiệm tác chừng đôi mươi.

        He is surnamed Bùi, named Kiệm, aged about twenty.

   2. used in tan tác (“to scatter; to get separated with a chaotic manner”)
3. chữ Nôm form of tách (“to separate; to split”)