一切經音義 53.164

53.164

虵獺 (the first character is shi + zhe fan; the Shuowen says: "Formed with 'insect/reptile' [虫] and long, picturing the coiled shape with a hanging tail; in high antiquity people dwelled in nests and were plagued by serpents, hence when inquiring after one another they asked if there were any 'serpents' [他/虵], where 'it/other' [它] is the present character for serpent"; the second character is ta + da fan; the Shuowen says: "An animal resembling a small dog that lives in water and catches fish"; it is formed with 'dog' [犬] with lai [賴] as phonetic).