南

Jiajie (假借): The oracle-bone form depicts a lidded 同 (tóng, “tube; cylindrical vessel”). Some forms contain strokes inside the vessel, probably representing its contents. In Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, the 同 (tóng) element changed into 用 (yòng). One proposal identifies this graph as the original character of 醓 (tǎn) (“meat sauce; minced meat preserved in brine”).

南 (OC *nˤəm) may be related to 腩 (OC *nˤəmʔ) and 納 (OC *nˤəp) (“to put in; to receive”).

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g-nam (“sky, sun”) (STEDT; Schuessler (2007); Benedict (1972)); the south is traditionally associated with the sun & light, compare 陽 (OC *laŋ, “light, sun-lit south-side of a hill”).

: If so, cognate with Tibetan གནམ (gnam, “sky”), ནམ (nam, “night”), Tshangla ngam (“sun, noon, day, sky”), Chepang न्याम् (nyam, “sun, sunlight, storm-cloud, weather”).

Alternatively, Sagart (2004) relates this word to Old Chinese *nɨm (revised to *nˤ[ə]m in 2014) "belly, front of the body", further "south" to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nam (“rib(s)”), as one term for one body-part often shifts its meaning to another body-part nearby.

: If so, 南 is cognate with 妊 (OC *njɯms, “to carry inside one's belly → to be pregnant”), 任 (OC *njɯm, *njɯms, “to carry a burden, especially in front of the body”), also 腩 (OC *nuːmʔ, “belly (of an ox)”), Southern Pumi nõ⁵⁵, Burmese နံရိုး (nam-rui:, “side of the body, rib”), and thus is a semantic counterpart to 北 (OC *pɯːɡ, “north”), which is related to 背 (OC *pɯːɡs, *bɯːɡs, “back of the body”).