杜
- to stop, to prevent, to prohibit;
Etymology
Phono-semantic compound:
木 (tree, wood radical) – semantic, indicating a tree.
土 (earth, soil) – phonetic element, lending sound.
In Shuowen Jiezi (許慎, 2nd c.), 杜 is explained as referring to a kind of tree, identified as the hawthorn or crabapple (감당, 팥배나무).
The sense “to block, prevent” arose through phonetic loan from 𢾅 (⿰度攵), which shares the same reading.
Usage in Korean
The modern sense “to block, to prohibit” is now dominant in common compounds.
방도(防杜) – prevention, to guard against
진두(鎭杜) – to suppress, to check
부두(部杜) – department head (historical usage)
성씨 두(杜氏) – family name Du
Additional notes
Widely used as a surname, e.g., the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu (杜甫).
Because of the tree-meaning origin, it is sometimes still encountered in classical texts in the sense of a specific plant.