番 (Pān)

surname Pan

Etymology

Depicts an animal's claw (釆) with their paw shown. 釆 also represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "animal's paw", now written as 蹯. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》:“番,獸足謂之番。从采,田象其掌。番或从足、从煩。,古文番。”

Original meaning

animal's paw

Components