専用

せんよう · senyou · JLPT N1 · noun

use

🔑 専 = dedicated (only) + 用 = use: dedicated use, reserved for one person or purpose

専 means only or dedicated, and 用 means use. Together they describe something reserved for a single person or purpose. The same 専 appears in 専門 (senmon), specialty.

用 — pictograph of a bucket or wooden pail
用 originally depicted a bucket or container, possibly a sacrificial vessel made of wood. Over time it was borrowed to mean 'to use' or 'employ,' losing its concrete object sense. The modern meaning 'use' has been standard since early classical Chinese.

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