媤
- husband’s family;
Etymology
Phono-semantic compound:
女 (“woman, female”) — semantic, relates to female/family matters.
思 (“to think, consider; sa”) — phonetic component.
Thus, originally meant a woman named “Sa”; later in Korean, by phonetic association, came to be used uniquely for “시집” (husband’s home).
Usage in Korean
媤댁 — the husband’s family
媤어머니 (시어머니) — husband’s mother (mother-in-law)
媤아버지 (시아버지) — husband’s father (father-in-law)
媤누이 — husband’s sister
Words that derived from 媤
Additional notes
This is a Korean-specific semantic shift: in Chinese and Japanese, the character does not mean “husband’s family.”
The meaning “시집” arose in Korean due to phonetic resemblance between 媤 (사) and the native Korean word 시 in 시집.
Example of folk-etymological adaptation: Hanja chosen to represent a native word not originally related to its semantic field.
Historical references:
《康熙字典》 (Kangxi Dictionary, 1716):
「媤：女字也。从女思聲。」
“媤: a female personal name. Composed of 女 with phonetic 思.”
Only “woman’s name” meaning, no mention of in-laws.
《韓國漢字音訓辭典》 (Dictionary of Korean Sino-Xenic Readings):
媤: 시집 si-jip (“husband’s family, in-laws”).
Specific to Korean semantic development.
Alternative forms
㚸 (shares the “woman-name” meaning).
