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So I'm quite new to Japanese, and I'm having a blast being able to understand
some basic compound words based on individual kanji, and in some cases the
process is quite straightforward. However, I don't want to get carried away
because I understand that of course kanji can have, in some cases, many
readings, so I could sometimes end up with complete nonsense.

That being said, in the particular case of my question, is it reasonable to
assume that the 食 in 月食/日食 can be interpreted as the moon/sun being "eaten"
during an eclipse or is there another reason to use this kanji? I have read
that a different kanji was used before (at least for lunar eclipse, 月蝕), but I
haven't been able to find an explanation about the etymology itself or to
verify that it is indeed as simple as it looks.

Thanks in advance !!
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2019-07-04T07:34:22.730
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2019-07-09T10:49:03.357
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question
kanji etymology
Is reasonable to assume that the 食 in 月食/日食 can be interpreted as the sun/moon being "eaten" during an eclipse?
Rather than interpreting「食」as its original meaning _eaten_ , it is probably
more accurate to interpret it for its secondary meaning that developed in Old
Chinese: _wear away, corrode, damage [something]_. This is the same kind of
semantic extension as English (e.g. _acid **eats away** at metal >
corrosion_). Thus, eclipses are a _wearing away_ of the sun or moon.

Apart from eclipses,「食」was very early on used to describe similar phenomenon,
such as the transition from a full moon to a new moon. From the [_Book of
Changes_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching):

> 《[易經](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching)・豐卦・彖曰》：「日中則昃，月盈則食」
>
> _When the sun reaches
> the[meridian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridian_\(astronomy\))_ [i.e.
> noon] _, it thus travels west_ [i.e. sets] _. When the moon becomes full, it
> thus fades away_.

The _wear away, corrode_ sense is now written as「蝕」, so「食」is the original and
older form of the character used in the meaning _eclipse_.

* * *

> In contrast to the later-formed character
> [「蝕」](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/yanbian?kaiOrder=3655), _eclipses_
> were known as「食」since the [Shang
> dynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty). Eclipses were often
> interpreted as omens of some sort, and whether or not they were auspicious
> were corroborated by [oracle bone
> divinations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone). From
> [《甲骨文合集》33694](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=33694&jgwfl=),
> read from the bottom sentence then the top sentence:
>

>> 癸酉貞：日月又（有）食，隹（唯）若？

>>

>> _Divination on_ [癸酉](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%99%B8%E9%85%89)
_day, it is asked: If the sun or moon is eclipsed, is this an auspicious
sign?_

>>

>> 癸酉貞：日月又（有）食，⿱非若？

>>

>> _Divination on_ 癸酉 _day, it is asked: If the sun or moon is eclipsed, is
this **not** an auspicious sign?_

>
> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fuFq7.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/fuFq7.png)
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2019-07-09T10:49:03.357
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answer