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In certain typefaces and/or at small font sizes, the edges of the 土 component touch the enclosing 冂 component, producing a resemblance to the radical 用.
to encircle, to circle, to surround, everywhere, curve (in the road)
Unclear. Possibly connected with Tibetanགཅུ་བ(gcu ba) ~ ལྕུ་བ(lcu ba, “screw”), གཅུད་བ(gcud ba) ~ ལྕུབ་བ(lcub ba, “turn, twist, plait, braid”), or Thaiดิ้ว(dîu, “club, stick; strips of rattan or bamboo bent in a circle to which ribs of a cage are fastened”) or Khmerជួត(cuət, “to wind; to wrap around; to wear a turban”) (Schuessler, 2007)
to help
Unclear. Maybe same word as 周 (zhōu, “to surround”) as words for "help, aid" often derive from the notion "next to, or around, a person" (for analogies, 佐 (OC *ʔsaːls, “to assist < to be on one's left-side”) from 左 (OC *ʔsaːlʔ, “left”) and 佑 (OC *ɢʷɯs, “to assist < to be on one's right-side”) from 右 (OC *ɢʷɯʔ)) (Schuessler, 2007).
Alternatively, note Khmerជួយ(cuəy, “to help, assist; to support; to rescue, save”) (ibid.). Even so, also note Thaiช่วย(chûai), which in turn is from Middle Chinese助 (MC dzrjoH)); if Khmerជួយ(cuəy) and Thaiช่วย(chûai) were related, then Khmerជួយ(cuəy) cannot be related to Old Chinese周 (OC *tjɯw).
dynasty's name
Attested in the Huayuanzhang East Oracle Bone Inscription HYZ 327.1 (transliterated and translated by Schwartz, 2019)
A 周方白 (Zhōufāng bó, “Elder of Zhou region”), likely King Wen of Zhou, was mentioned in Oracle Bone Inscriptions H11:82 and H11:84 (Lin, 1995)
Hargett (2021) states that 商 (Shāng) and 周 (Zhōu) derived from names of "places that the rulers and people of those eras regarded as their homeland or cultic centers"; the 周方 (Zhōufāng, “Zhou region”) was among "areas or regions along the frontier borders of Shang, traditionally regarded as enemy territory".
^ Schwartz, A. (2019) The Oracle Bone Inscriptions from Huayuanzhuang East: Translated with an Introduction and Commentary, Boston, Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, →DOI, →ISBN
^ Lin, Sen-Shou. 1995. “Problems in the Studies of Zhou Oracle-Bone Scripts.” Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, 1919-2007. T, University of British Columbia. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0098998.
Chu is the original Hán-Việt reading of this character and related ones according to Thiều Chửu. However, naming taboos for Nguyễn Phúc Chu (阮福淍) led to the reading Châu being used instead for this character, especially in the south of Vietnam, based on a tradition of u/âu sound swaps. Currently, both readings are in use.