TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
民
ㄇㄧㄣˊ · mín
noun — the people
字源 FORM — what the parts do
民形an eye pierced by a point — the old graph of a blinded captive
The bronze graph is an eye pierced by a point — a captive blinded into servitude. The word climbed: from the enslaved, to the ruled, to simply everyone — 人民、民族、民主.
意 · Meanings
(本義)奴僕— a captive servant — per the bronze graph
→人民、平民— the people, the governed常用
⇒民主、民間— of the people — rule and life
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension