從詞彙史角度看「關楗」、「管籥」、「鎖匙」的關係

On Guan-jian (關楗), Guan-yue (管籥) and Suo-chi (鎖匙): From the Perspective of Lexical History

本文從詞彙史的角度，說明「關楗」、「管籥」與「鎖匙」具有詞彙發展的關係。文獻所見的「管」有些指橫木關，有些指關楗上再加的鎖，有些指開鎖的鑰匙。異物同名的現象，說明了異物之間在形制上具有沿革的關係：物件形式變了，可是觀念上仍視它們為一物，因此用舊名來稱呼新的物件，因而產生指稱的重疊。解經家以「鎖」、「匙」註解「管」、「關」、「楗」、「籥」，這是因關、楗在形制上愈趨精巧後，形體發展得與鎖鏈及匙匕相近，因此產生詞彙的替代，改稱閉門裝置為「鎖」、「匙」，在詞彙上留下古今語重疊和取代的痕跡。

This paper argues from the perspective of lexical history that guan-jian (關楗), guan-yue (管籥) and suo-chi (鎖匙) are related in terms of their lexical development. In early texts, guan (管) might signify a locking-bar, both the lock and the locking-bar, or the key that opens the lock. This phenomenon of multiple referents shows a special kind of lexical derivation in a set of words or word family that is closely related in form or usage. Given the relationship between them, it is quite understandable why one form’s name could be used to denote the other or vice versa. This usage leads to duplication. Many philologists define guan and jian or guan and yue, by using suo and chi. This is because as the objects that the terms guan and jian refer to were improved overtime, their appearance increasingly resembled suo and chi. Through lexical replacement, we can see how suo and chi came to connote the implements used for securing a door. This is a clear example of how words are replaced in the history.