字引
じびき · jibiki · JLPT N5 · noun
dictionary
📖 字引 = character (字) + pull (引): the book you pull characters out of
字 (ji) means written character and 引 (biki, from hiku) means to pull or look up. A jibiki is literally a character-puller: you pull the word you need out of it. It is an older, homier word than 辞書 (jisho).
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.
引 — bow 弓 + vertical stroke 丨
A compound ideograph showing a bow 弓 with a vertical line 丨 representing the drawn bowstring. The original meaning was 'to draw a bow,' which extended to 'pull,' 'lead,' 'guide,' and 'cite.' The vertical stroke depicts the action of pulling the string back.