挺

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *l'eːŋ, *l'eːŋʔ): semantic 手 (“hand”) + phonetic 廷 (OC *l'eːŋ, *l'eːŋʔ).

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(p/b)ljaŋ (“straight; straighten”) (STEDT; Schuessler, 2003, 2007). Compare Burmese ဖြောင့် (hpraung., “straight”), as well as the following Chinese terms:

* 𡈼 (OC *l̥ʰeːŋʔ, “good, virtuous; to be good at”)

* 庭 (OC *l'eːŋ, “straight (of growing grain), upright (of morality); courtyard”)

* 梃 (OC *l'eːŋʔ, “stick, staff, club”)

* 筳 (OC *l'eːŋ, “bamboo rod”)

* 鋌 (OC *l'eːŋʔ, “metal rod, ingot”)

* 珽 (OC *l̥ʰeːŋʔ, “jade scepter”)

The Sino-Tibetan root is allofamic with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(p/b)ljaŋ (“plank, palm, flat surface, wing”) (whence 平 (OC *ben, *beŋ, “flat, even”)) and Proto-Sino-Tibetan *(p/b)liŋ (“full; to fill”) (whence 盈 (OC *leŋ, “to fill; full, surplus”)), with the semantic core of these roots being a "complete realization of a dimensional quality".

The intensifier usage “quite; very” is most likely a grammaticalized usage from “outstanding; prominent” (Liu, 2008; Yang, 2021). Alternatively, it may be from Manchu ᡨᡝᠨ (ten, “extreme”) (Aixinjueluo, 1993).