胡 (Hú)

surname Hu

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and 古 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "flesh under the chin of a cow", which later shifted to "beard" (now written as 鬍 in traditional characters). Also used pejoratively to refer to foreigners from central Asia, who tended to have more beards than Han Chinese people. This meaning also shifted to "reckless" and "outrageous".

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》:“胡,牛垂也。从肉,古聲。”

Original meaning

flesh under the chin of a cow

Components