既に
すでに · sudeni · JLPT N3 · adverb
already (same as もう)
🍚 既 = a diner turned away from the rice bowl: the meal is already over
In ancient script, 既 shows a kneeling person with their head turned away from a food vessel, meaning they have finished eating. すでに is the more formal, written cousin of もう: 既に終わった = it is already over.
既 — 皀 (food vessel) + 旡 (person turning away)
Originally a pictograph of a person turning away from a food vessel, signaling a finished meal. From this came the meanings 'already' and 'completed.' The modern sense 'since' or 'now that' developed by extension from the idea of an action already done.