柱

Compound character:

木 (tree, wood) – semantic element, indicating something made of wood.

主 (master, main, central) – phonetic element, also reinforcing the sense of “main support.”

Together, the character depicts the main wooden support of a building – a pillar, essential for stability. By extension, it came to mean to support, to uphold, to sustain.

기둥 (柱) – pillar, post

주축 (柱軸) – central pillar, key support

열주 (列柱) – a row of columns (in architecture)

원주 (圓柱) – cylindrical column

기둥서방 (柱書房) – (colloquial) “househusband” (originally derogatory, “a man living off a woman’s income”)

In traditional architecture, 柱 was considered the backbone of a house or hall, symbolizing strength and centrality.

Metaphorically, it refers to a mainstay or essential person (e.g., the “pillar of society”).

In Buddhist texts, 법의 기둥 (法柱) sometimes refers metaphorically to the central doctrine that upholds the teaching.