一切經音義 3.77

3.77

姉妹 (the upper character is *zī* + *cǐ* [fanqie: zǐ]; the lower character is *mèi* + *bèi* [fanqie: mèi]; the Baihu tong says: "'Zǐ' (elder sister) means indulgence; 'mèi' (younger sister) means the end; the meaning is taken from elder and younger, superior and inferior in sequence." The Han Shi says: "An elder sister is called 'zǐ'; a younger sister is called 'mèi'." The Shuowen jiezi says: "Derived from 'nǚ' (woman) with 'shì' (市) as phonetic; 'shì' is *zī* + *sǐ* [fanqie]. The character 'mèi' is derived from 'mò' (end)").