猶

Semantic–phonetic compound:

犬 (“dog, animal”) — semantic marker indicating an animal

酋 (“chieftain; elder”) — phonetic component supplying the sound 유

Originally meaning a species of monkey, later extended metaphorically:

- monkeys → suspicious, hesitant → to hesitate

- similarity in behavior → like; resembling

- ongoing state → still; nevertheless

This semantic evolution is well attested in early Chinese texts.

Modern Korean rarely uses 猶 outside idioms and classical quotations.

과유불급 (過猶不及) — Excess is as bad as deficiency.

유약 (猶若) — as if, similar to

유사 (猶似) — resembling, similar

유래 (猶來) — still to come (classical usage)

猶 often conveys continuity (“still, yet”) or comparison (“like, as if”).

In classical texts, the grammatical behavior resembles 而 or 若 in certain constructions.

The original zoological meaning (“monkey”) survives only in ancient glosses.

Phonetic component 酋 appears in several words with readings yu/you/yo-, e.g., 遊, 猷, 逾.

Classical citations:

《論語·先進》 (Analects 11:16)

「過猶不及。」

“Excess is like deficiency”

猶 = “like, just as”

《孟子·離婁下》 (Mencius)

「今有無名之指，猶欲其有名也。」

“If one had a finger without a name, he would still wish it to have one.”

猶 = “still, even so”

《莊子·外物》 (Zhuangzi)

「猶有未樹者。」

“Yet there are still those not yet established.”

猶 = “yet, still”