免

免 has two major etymological interpretations in classical scholarship:

1. Childbirth interpretation

An early view holds that 免 originally depicted:

- a woman giving birth

- the child emerging, meaning “to be delivered, to come out, to escape from inside”

This explains semantic development “to escape”, “to avoid”, “to be exempt.”

This interpretation relates 免 to 娩 (to give birth).

2. Cap / coronet interpretation

Another view, based on bronze inscription forms, sees 免 as:

- a person wearing a cap with long ribbons, the prototype of 冕 (ceremonial crown).

This explains why:

冕 is the obvious derivative

免 in early forms resembles a crowned person

Semantic shift:

- from “remove/undo a cap” → “to discharge” → “to dismiss from office” - “to free/exempt.”

In Korean, 免(면) appears widely in formal, administrative, legal, and everyday vocabulary.

Exemption / relief:

免除 (면제) — 의무를 없앰; exemption

免責 (면책) — 책임을 면함; release from liability

免罪 (면죄) — 죄를 용서함; absolution

免稅 (면세) — 세금을 면함; tax exemption

Escape / avoidance:

逃免 (도면) — 도망하여 면함; escape and avoid

免難 (면난) — 어려움을 벗어남; evade disaster

免禍 (면화) — 재앙을 피함; avoid calamity

Administrative dismissal:

免官 (면관) — 관직을 면함; dismissal from office

免職 (면직) — 직위 해제; removal from position

Relief from obligations:

免役 (면역) — 부역 면제; exemption from corvée

免役令 (면역령) — 부역 면제 명령; order of exemption from labor service

Miscellaneous:

一免 (일면) — “한 번 용서함”; one-time exemption

免疫 (면역) — (modern) immunity (exemption from disease)

Relation to 冕 and 娩:

冕 — coronet; historically derived from 免.

娩 — to give birth; another graphic derivative linked to the original pictorial meaning.

Classical citations:

《左傳·宣公十二年》 (Zuo Zhuan)

「免之，無使傷吾民。」

“Spare him; do not allow our people to be harmed” — 免 = spare, exempt from punishment.

《史記·秦始皇本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian )

「免其租賦。」

“He exempted them from taxes and levies” — 免 = exempt (administrative relief).

《漢書·百官公卿表》 (Book of Han)

「免官。」

“Dismissed from office” — 免 = to remove/dismiss from position.

《後漢書·杜詩傳》 (Book of the Later Han)

「免死。」

“Spared from death.”

These sources show: 免 = spare, exempt, excuse, dismiss, remove from danger.

冕, 娩

When 免 passed from bronze script to seal script, its form accidentally became very similar to 兔 (rabbit).

They look almost identical in modern script, but are historically unrelated.

Distinguish:

免 — has a hook stroke downward.

兔 — has an extra dot and different legs.