Chinese Characters

促

PINYIN

cù

Main meanings:

①urge; promote.
②be close to; near.
③hurried; urgent.

HSK - 5

STROKES - 9

RADICAL - 亻

Etymology:
Elements ---- person 亻 + foot 足. Phonetic series - 足.

Originally was fast, rapid. A person moving his feet 足. Urge is to ask a person to do things quickly. Moving quickly a person comes near.

Main Words:

①urge; promote.

促进cùjìn promote; accelerate.
促使 cùshǐ impel; urge.

②be close to; near.

促膝 cùxī closely; in private.
促坐 cùzuò sit side by side.

③hurried; urgent.

紧促 jǐncù urgent.
急促 jícù hastily; in a hurry.

Discussion and sources

Though most of the scholars consider that in this character 足zú has only a phonetic function, it seems obvious that a pictogram of a person and his foot is completely suitable to depict the concept: “quick, fast.”
Both Chen and Gao confirm that the original meaning of 促 was quick, rapid.
Cheng Menghui (程孟辉). Dictionary of Old Chinese (古代汉语字典). Commercial Press. Beijing, 2011

Gao Jingcheng (高景成). Etymologic Dictionary of the most common characters. (常用字字源字典). Language Publishers. Beijing. 2013.

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