施

// Bestowal and Distribution: The act of giving, granting, or dispensing. This often implies a specific directionality: from a superior to a subject (top-down) or from a center to a periphery (outward). In Buddhist contexts, this extends to the virtue of generosity (//dāna*).

• Implementation and Execution: To carry out, apply, or enforce. It marks the transition from potentiality (a plan or law) to actuality (fact); common in administrative, legal, or strategic texts.
• Extension/Spreading: The concrete distribution of something across a surface or area, such as sowing seeds or casting a net.

• Transitive: [Subject] → 施 → [Object] (e.g., "bestow favor").
• Double Object Construction: [Subject] → 施 → [Recipient] → [Thing bestowed].
• Actualization: When paired with other verbs, it can function to signal that an action is being actively carried out.

• vs. 賜 (cì): Both involve bestowal, but 賜 is more strictly tied to grants from imperial or high authority. 施 is broader and encompasses systemic distribution or general charity.
• vs. 行 (xíng): While 行 is a general term for "doing" or "going," 施 emphasizes the application or execution of a specific rule or intent.

The dictionary gloss "name" is not supported as a primary meaning; it likely refers to the act of bestowing a name (施名) or a specialized phonetic usage. It should be treated as a low-probability option unless the context explicitly precludes other readings.