侯

• Nobility: High-ranking nobility, specifically lords or marquises exercising autonomous authority over territories.
• Archery: A target used in archery, or the official stationed at a target to observe and record hits.

• Noun: Used when referring to rank (侯) or seasonal periods (候).
• Verb: When occupying a verbal slot, it typically functions as 候 ("to wait," "to observe").

• Sense boundaries: The nobility sense is often signaled by the presence of terms such as qing (卿) or dafu (大夫). Senses related to observation or time are suggested by terminology concerning wind, weather, boundaries, or time-keeping.

// Interchangeability: In pre-Qin and early Han texts, 侯 is frequently used interchangeably (//tongjia*) with 候.

If the context does not support a rank of nobility, consider if the glyph is functioning as 候, which encompasses:

• Observation/Surveillance: To scout, patrol borders, or keep watch.
• Waiting/Anticipation: To be in attendance or bide one's time.
• Temporal/Seasonal: The hou (候), referring to the five-day "pentads" that divide a solar term.