纶 (lún): silk cord; silk thread

Meanings

1 silk cord; silk thread
2 fishing line
3 an imperial decree (literary, by extension from the silk cords sealing edicts)

Characters

纶

lún

silk cord; fishing line; (in 纶巾) read guān

Examples

锦纶是一种合成纤维。

Jǐnlún shì yī zhǒng héchéng xiānwéi.

Synthetic fiber is called 'jǐnlún' in Chinese.

诗中诸葛亮纶巾在身，从容镇定。

Shī zhōng Zhūgě Liàng guānjīn zài shēn, cóngróng zhèndìng.

In the poem Zhuge Liang appears in a turban of blue silk cord, calm and at ease.

Tips

mistakes

Read 纶 as lún in the modern fiber words 锦纶 (nylon) and 涤纶 (polyester). But in the classical term 纶巾 ('blue silk-band headscarf,' famously worn by Zhuge Liang) it is read guān, not lún.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk (left-side radical)

Silk radical on the left, the side-form of 糸. It marks this as a thread or cord word. Same family as 线 thread, 绳 rope, 纺 to spin.

phonetic

仑 lún

order; logical arrangement

Right side 仑 supplies the sound lún directly, and carries a faint sense of 'orderly arrangement' — fitting for threads twisted neatly into cord. Same phonetic in 轮 wheel and 论 to discuss.