供

By extension: to confess or to present (in court or to a higher power); to dedicate offerings to deities or ancestors.

Phono-semantic compound:

人 (사람 인) — semantic component, indicates human action or service.

共 (함께 공) — phonetic component, provides the sound gōng / gòng and connotes sharing, offering together.

Thus 人 + 共 → 供 — “to act in concert to provide,” or “to serve jointly.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「供，奉也。从人，共聲。」

“供 means to offer or to serve; composed of 人 and phonetic 共.”

Originally, 供 referred to acts of human service or offering — bringing things respectfully to another person or to a shrine.

供給 (공급) — supply, provision

供奉 (공봉) — offering; serving with respect (especially in ritual contexts)

供養 (공양) — to make an offering (to Buddha or ancestors); almsgiving

供應 (공응) — to provide, to furnish

供述 (공술) — confession; statement (in legal contexts)

供出 (공출) — to submit; to offer up (supplies or property)

Book of Rites (禮記 · 郊特牲):

「凡祭宗廟之禮，皆以敬供。」

“In all rites of sacrifice to the ancestral temple, everything is offered with reverence.”

供 here refers to ritual presentation or offering.

Book of Han (漢書 · 祭祀志):

「供上帝、宗廟、山川。」

“To make offerings to Heaven, the ancestral temples, and the mountains and rivers.”

In Buddhist texts, 供 (공) and 供養 (공양) denote devotional offerings of food, incense, or respect to the Buddha or monks.

Its core meaning — “to present or supply” — extends from daily provision (공급) to sacred offering (공양).

From Confucian ritual to Buddhist devotion, the character 供 embodies the act of respectful giving and service, both material and spiritual.

The dual pronunciation (gōng / gòng) reflects early tonal divergence of the same root:

gōng — “to supply” (functional, secular sense).

gòng — “to offer reverently” (ritual, religious sense).