揲

dié

To sort divination stalks; to fold.

Meaning

  • Ritual/Technical: Sorting, counting, or dividing yarrow stalks (蓍 //shī//) during divination to determine a hexagram; specifically an algorithmic operation of reduction and division.
  • Physical: Folding, bending, or creasing an object with the hands.

Distinctions

The intended sense is typically determined by context: terms related to divination (e.g., 蓍 //shī//, 占 //zhàn//, 筮 //shì//) indicate the ritual sense, while references to material objects (such as cloth or paper) indicate "to fold" or "to bend."

History and forms

Fanqie indicates a reading of //shè//. The glyph's construction suggests a relationship to //zhé// (折, to break/fold).

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.