yvonne sent me this etymological post in a mail with the provocative subject "did you know there's a single Chinese character to convey "to sell one's children in times of famine"?" so of course i shot off to look at it.


[excerpt]

"Over time, the pronunciations and meanings diverged, and so the meaning of 鬻 evolves from “tasteless glop with the consistency of snot that nobody with functioning tastebuds could ever conceivably enjoy eating” to “to nourish” to “to sell food” to “to sell, particularly as an act of desperation in trying times” to “to sell one’s own child.”"


a bit harsh on porridge, i must say, but the post is certainly worth looking at, as are some of the other posts on the blog.