Is reasonable to assume that the 食 in 月食/日食 can be interpreted as the sun/moon being "eaten" during an eclipse?


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 !!




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)




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)

