“姥姥”词义源流考

＂姥姥＂一词最早见于元代的《全元南戏.高明.蔡伯喈琵琶记》,是单音词＂姥＂复音化的结果。明清时期,＂姥姥＂一词的词义有所扩大,但到了现代,只有＂外祖母＂和＂老妇人＂两个义项仍活在现代汉语的口语和书面语中。就＂姥姥＂一词的词义的发展演变试做考察,以期对其源流做出合理的解释。

On the Origin and Meaning of ＂Crandmother＂

The word ＂grandmother＂ is firstly found in the Yuan Dynasty,jin-yuan south oper Gao ming Caibojie Pipaji,which constitutes the form of the word and is the result of double tone oscillator of monosyllabic word ＂mu＂.With the continuous development of the society and culture,its meaning was extended during the Ming and Qing Dynasties,but in modern times,its meaning is narrowed,and only ＂grandmother＂ and ＂old woman＂ are still living in the modern sense of the spoken and written languages in Chinese.This article deals with the evolution of the meaning of the word ＂grandmother＂ with a view to giving a reasonable explanation of its origins.