許

許 (Kangxi radical 149, 言+4, 11 strokes, cangjie input 卜口人十 (YROJ), four-corner 0864₀, composition ⿰訁午)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1151, character 14
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 35298
• Dae Jaweon: page 1618, character 3
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3946, character 9
• Unihan data for U+8A31

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *hŋaʔ) : semantic 言 (“speech; words”) + phonetic 午 (OC *ŋaːʔ).

“place”

Related to 所 (OC *s-qʰ<r>aʔ, “place; that which”), 處 (OC *t.qʰaʔ, “to be at”), 處 (OC *t.qʰaʔ-s, “place”) (Baxter and Sagart, 2014; also cf. Pan and Tao, 1999).

許

1. to allow; to permit

   只許看，不許吃／只许看，不许吃  ―  zhǐ xǔ kàn, bùxǔ chī  ―  it is only permitted to look at it but not to eat it

2. to promise

   許下承諾／许下承诺  ―  xǔ xià chéngnuò  ―  to make a promise

3. to betroth

   我們家姑娘已經許了人家兒了。 [dialectal Mandarin, trad.]
   我们家姑娘已经许了人家儿了。 [dialectal Mandarin, simp.]

   Wǒmen jiā gūniang yǐjīng xǔ le rénjiar le. [Pinyin]

   Our miss has already been betrothed.

4. to praise

   稱許／称许  ―  chēngxǔ  ―  to praise

5. maybe; perhaps
6. (literary) approximately

   下午三時許／下午三时许  ―  xiàwǔ sān shí xǔ  ―  about 3 pm

7. so; such

   許久／许久  ―  xǔjiǔ  ―  a long time

   • 問渠哪得清如許，為有源頭活水來。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     问渠哪得清如许，为有源头活水来。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 12th century, 朱熹 (Zhu Xi), 觀書有感

     Wèn qú nǎ dé qīng rú xǔ, wèi yǒu yuántóu huóshuǐ lái. [Pinyin]

     [I want to] ask it [the pond] why it can be so clear. It is because running water continuously flows in.

8. (literary) place

   • 先生不知何許人也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     先生不知何许人也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 4th century, Tao Yuanming, Life of the 'Master of Five Willows' (《五柳先生傳》)

     Xiānshēng bùzhī héxǔrén yě. [Pinyin]

     It is unknown where "The Master" hails from.

• → Vietnamese: hứa (“to promise”)

Originally written as 鄦 (OC *hmaʔ), 𱢬 (among others) in pre-Qin texts. By the Han dynasty, it was homophonic with and written as 許, originally meaning “to allow; to promise”, due to voiceless nasals losing nasality, turning into x- (Zhang, 2022b).

許

1. a surname

   許慎／许慎  ―  Xǔ Shèn  ―  Xu Shen (author of Shuowen Jiezi)

• → English: Hsu, Hsü, Hui, Koh, Sheu, Syu, Xu
• → Tagalog: Co, Ko (via Hokkien)

許

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Zheng (2017) suggests that it is from 爾 (OC *njelʔ, “that”). Compare 耳 (OC *njɯʔ, “ear”) > Min Nan hī.

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

許

1. (Gan, Min, Wu) that

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. permit
2. approve
3. place below, vicinity

• Go-on: こ (ko)
• Kan-on: きょ (kyo, Jōyō)
• Kun: ゆるす (yurusu, 許す, Jōyō); ばかり (bakari, 許り); もと (moto, 許)

許 (eumhun 허락할 허 (heorakhal heo))

1. Hanja form^? of 허 (“approve”).

• 허락 (許諾, heorak, “consent; permission”)

許: Hán Nôm readings: hứa, hớ, hở, hử, hữ, ngỏ

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.