. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
big; great; huge
big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor
statesman; vassal; courtier
statesman; vassal; courtier; minister; official
simp. and trad. (大臣 )
大
臣
Pronunciation
Rime
Character
大
大
臣
Reading #
1/2
2/2
1/1
Initial (聲 )
定 (7)
定 (7)
常 (25)
Final (韻 )
泰 (25)
歌 (94)
眞 (43)
Tone (調 )
Departing (H)
Departing (H)
Level (Ø)
Openness (開合 )
Open
Open
Open
Division (等 )
I
I
III
Fanqie
徒 蓋 切
唐 佐 切
植 鄰 切
Baxter
dajH
daH
dzyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang
/dɑiH /
/dɑH /
/d͡ʑiɪn /
Pan Wuyun
/dɑiH /
/dɑH /
/d͡ʑin /
Shao Rongfen
/dɑiH /
/dɑH /
/d͡ʑjen /
Edwin Pulleyblank
/dajH /
/daH /
/d͡ʑin /
Li Rong
/dɑiH /
/dɑH /
/ʑiĕn /
Wang Li
/dɑiH /
/dɑH /
/ʑĭĕn /
Bernhard Karlgren
/dʱɑiH /
/dʱɑH /
/ʑi̯ĕn /
Expected Mandarin Reflex
dài
duò
chén
Expected Cantonese Reflex
daai6
do6
san4
Baxter –Sagart system 1.1 (2014 )
Character
大
大
臣
Reading #
1/2
2/2
1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
dà
dà
chén
Middle Chinese
‹ daH ›
‹ dajH ›
‹ dzyin ›
Old Chinese
/*lˁat-s/ (MC F!)
/*lˁa-s/
/*i/
English
big
big
slave, subject
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:
* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;
* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
大
大
臣
Reading #
1/2
2/2
1/1
No.
1934
1939
1342
Phonetic component
大
大
臣
Rime group
祭
祭
眞
Rime subdivision
1
1
2
Corresponding MC rime
䭾
大
辰
Old Chinese
/*daːds/
/*daːds/
/*ɡiŋ/
Notes
甲 文 臧 象 以 戈 刺 目 爲 奴 ,省 戈 表 不 刺 者 則 爲 臣 ,專 指 役 使 於 家 內 者
Noun
大臣
minister ( of an imperial regime, cabinet, etc. ) ; high -level official ( of a monarchy ) ; secretary ; chancellor
Synonym: 部長 / 部长 ( bùzhǎng ) ( for non-monarchies )
Derived terms
Descendants
Japanese
Etymology 1
From Middle Chinese 大臣 (MC dajH dzyin ).
Pronunciation
Noun
大( だい ) 臣( じん ) • (daijin )
( politics ) a government minister of Japan or ancient China
( politics , historical ) a senior minister or superior in the 太政官 ( Daijō-kan , “ Great Council of State ” ) , namely the 太政大臣 ( daijō-daijin ) , 左大臣 ( sadaijin ) , 右大臣 ( udaijin ) , and 内大臣 ( naidaijin )
Derived terms
See also
Etymology 2
From Middle Chinese 大臣 (MC dajH dzyin ).
Pronunciation
Noun
大( たい ) 臣( しん ) • (taishin )
( historical ) a major retainer
Antonym: 小臣 ( shōshin )
( historical ) Same as だいじん ( daijin ) above
Etymology 3
For pronunciation and definitions of 大臣 – see the following entry: 大尽
(The following entry is uncreated: 大尽 .)
Etymology 4
For pronunciation and definitions of 大臣 – see the following entry: 大殿
(The following entry is uncreated: 大殿 .)
Derived terms
Etymology 5
From 大 ( ō- , “ big , great ” ) + 臣 ( omi , “ vassal ” ) .
Noun
大( おお ) 臣( おみ ) • (ōomi ) ←おほおみ ( ofoomi ) ?
( politics , historical ) a chief consul in the ancient Yamato court , equivalent to and replaced by 左大臣 ( sadaijin ) and 右大臣 ( udaijin ) during the Taika Reforms
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:大臣 .
Derived terms
See also
Etymology 6
Compound of 大 ( ōi- , prefix of superiority ) + 公卿 ( mōchigimi , “ senior court official ” ) .
Noun
大臣( おおいもうちぎみ ) • (ōimōchigimi ) ←おほいまうちぎみ ( ofoimautigimi ) ?
( politics , historical , archaic ) a senior minister or superior in the 太政官 ( Ōimatsurigoto no Tsukasa , “ Great Council of State ” )
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:大臣 .
Derived terms
Etymology 7
Shift from Old Japanese 大臣 ( opomape1 tuki1 mi1 ) .
Equivalent to 大 ( ō- , “ big , great ” ) + 公卿 ( maetsugimi , ancient pronunciation of mōchigimi , “senior court official who serves before the Emperor ” ) .
Noun
大臣( おおまえつぎみ ) • (ōmaetsugimi ) ←おほまへつぎみ ( ofomafetugimi ) ?
( politics , historical , archaic ) a senior minister or superior in the 太政官 ( Ōimatsurigoto no Tsukasa , “ Great Council of State ” )
Derived terms
References
Old Japanese
Etymology 1
From 大 ( opo- , “ big , great ” ) + 公卿 ( mape1 tuki1 mi1 , “ senior court official ” ) .
Noun
大臣 (opomape1 tuki1 mi1 ) (kana おほまへつきみ )
a court official who serves near the emperor
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:大臣 .
Derived terms
太政大臣 ( opoki1 maturigo2 to2 no1 opomape1 tuki1 mi1 )
Descendants
Japanese: 大臣 ( ōmaetsugimi )
Etymology 2
From 大 ( opo- , “ big , great ” ) + 公卿 ( matiki1 mi1 , “ senior court official ” ) .
Alternatively, a shift from opomape1 tuki1 mi1 above.
Noun
大臣 (opomatiki1 mi1 ) (kana おほまちきみ )
( politics ) a chief consul in the ancient Yamato court , equivalent to and replaced by 左大臣 ( sadaijin ) and 右大臣 ( udaijin ) during the Taika Reforms
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:大臣 .
Descendants
Japanese: 大臣 ( ōmachigimi ) , in modern dictionaries
Etymology 3
From 大 ( opo- , “ big , great ” ) + 臣 ( omi1 , a kabane title ) .
The final -o of opo- was lost due to haplology .
Noun
大臣 (opomi1 ) (kana おほみ )
a pre- Taika Reform 姓 ( kabane , “ hereditary title ” ) given to a member of a powerful clan , ranked higher than an 臣 ( omi1 )
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:大臣 .
See also