字典
zìdiǎn · HSK 2
dictionary
📖 字典 = character + standard/canon (book of standard characters)
字 means character/word; 典 means canon, standard, or classic reference work. Together: a canonical book of characters — a dictionary. 典 also appears in 经典 (classic) and 词典 (word dictionary).
字 — roof 宀 + child 子
Originally depicted a child 子 under a roof 宀, suggesting birth or rearing a child in the home. The meaning later extended to 'to give birth, nurture' and then to 'written character', since characters were seen as offspring derived from earlier pictographs.