犧

Literal/Ritual: A sacrificial ox, specifically a high-status bovine offering.

Abstract/Extended: To sacrifice, relinquish something of value for a higher purpose or duty, or to suffer an unexpected loss or strategic surrender.

Noun: The sacrificial victim or the object being offered.

Verb: The act of offering up or sacrificing.

Contrast with 牲 (shēng): While both refer to sacrificial animals, 牲 is a general term for livestock; 犧 specifically evokes the ox and carries higher ritual status.

Contrast with 祭 (jì): 祭 refers to the ceremony or act of officiating; 犧 focuses on the victim or the object being lost.

Simplified variant: U+727A. In later texts, this glyph frequently appears in the compound 犧牲 (xīshēng), which shifted toward a modern abstract sense of "sacrifice."

When appearing alone in early texts, the glyph likely retains a more visceral connection to ritual slaughter and physical loss than it does in later compound usage.