斥

Originally a phono-semantic compound.

Old form: 㡿 (廣 + 屰)

廣 (집 엄) — semantic component, meaning “expanse, broad area,” referring to an open or extended space.

屰 (거스를 역) — phonetic component, providing sound chi̯ek and connoting opposition or reversal.

Later, the graphic form evolved:

㡿 → 厈 → 斥.

In the clerical (隸書) and regular (楷書) scripts, the upper element simplified into 斤 (도끼 근)-like strokes, though it is unrelated to the axe in meaning.

The small dot on the right originally represented the phonetic portion derived from 屰.

Thus, 斥 originally meant “to push away toward an open area,” then came to mean “to repel, to reject.”

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「斥，水之濱也。从斤，尺聲。」

“斥 means the shore of water; composed of 斤 with the sound of 尺.”

The text interprets the character as related to boundaries and edges—later extended to social or moral repulsion.

Semantic evolution:

Topographic (original): coastal boundary, flat shore.

Physical action: to push back, drive away.

Moral / rhetorical: to reject or condemn.

Abstract: to repulse, exclude, oppose.

This progression parallels many movement verbs in Chinese that extended from physical to social meaning.

斥和 (척화) — reject peace; resist compromise (used in Joseon history)

排斥 (배척) — to exclude, ostracize

斥候 (척후) — scout, reconnaissance (literally “to look out”)

斥責 (척책) — to reproach, scold severely

斥退 (척퇴) — to dismiss or expel

斥力 (척력) — repulsive force (in physics)

斥地 (척지) — water edge, riverbank (ancient sense)

Book of Documents (書經 · 大禹謨):

「斥山浚川。」

“He pushed back the mountains and dredged the rivers” — Here, 斥 conveys the sense “to clear away or open out.”

Its meanings broadened from the physical “to drive away” to moral and rhetorical “to reject, condemn, or expel.”

Zuo Zhuan (左傳 · 僖公二十四年):

「君子不斥言。」

“A gentleman does not reject words (without consideration)” — used morally, meaning “to reject or dismiss harshly.”

Han Feizi (韓非子 · 難一):

「斥其所惡，而納其所好。」

“He rejects what he hates and accepts what he loves.”

In both classical and modern usage, 斥 embodies the idea of resisting intrusion, drawing clear boundaries, and upholding distinction — whether in geography, ethics, or speech.