Does this symbol 术 has any meaning of its own?


This symbol 术 is part of several kanjis. Does it have a meaning of its own? I
looked for it in kanji lists and a japanese dictionary and it doesnt list any
meaning




It does have a meaning of its own, but it is better represented
by「朮」instead.「术」is a handwritten style of the character forced into
[Minchōtai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_\(typefaces\)) fonts, and you
can somewhat think of「术」vs.「朮」as Shinjitai vs. Kyūjitai (although this way of
viewing it has some limitations).

* * *

「朮」originally depicted a
[Sorghum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum_bicolor) plant (Chinese: 高梁,
Japanese: モロコシ) which is the original meaning with the historical form:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2JbWg.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2JbWg.png)

This meaning is now written as「秫」.「[朮]{じゅつ}」is used as a phonetic component in
the Jōyō kanji「述」and「術」(pending on the font you're using it may look
like「术」instead).

* * *

The other place where it's found is in the bottom-left hand side of Kyūjitai
「{{zh-TW:殺}}」(compare Shinjitai「殺」, where the dot is missing). Here,「朮」serves
as a graphically corrupted semantic component, originally representing a
person who was about to get their head chopped off.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mcj6h.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mcj6h.png)

_Change over time in the component depicting a person due to be executed in
the character_ 「{{zh-TW:殺}}」, _eventually transforming into_ 「朮」.

「朮」does not provide sound or meaning here, because it was originally something
else.

* * *

Lastly, in Simplified Chinese,「术」is the official form of「術」.

* * *

**References:**

  * 季旭昇《說文新證》
  * [小學堂](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/)




It does have a meaning of its own, but it is better represented
by「朮」instead.「术」is a handwritten style of the character forced into
[Minchōtai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_\(typefaces\)) fonts, and you
can somewhat think of「术」vs.「朮」as Shinjitai vs. Kyūjitai (although this way of
viewing it has some limitations).

* * *

「朮」originally depicted a
[Sorghum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum_bicolor) plant (Chinese: 高梁,
Japanese: モロコシ) which is the original meaning with the historical form:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2JbWg.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2JbWg.png)

This meaning is now written as「秫」.「[朮]{じゅつ}」is used as a phonetic component in
the Jōyō kanji「述」and「術」(pending on the font you're using it may look
like「术」instead).

* * *

The other place where it's found is in the bottom-left hand side of Kyūjitai
「{{zh-TW:殺}}」(compare Shinjitai「殺」, where the dot is missing). Here,「朮」serves
as a graphically corrupted semantic component, originally representing a
person who was about to get their head chopped off.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mcj6h.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mcj6h.png)

_Change over time in the component depicting a person due to be executed in
the character_ 「{{zh-TW:殺}}」, _eventually transforming into_ 「朮」.

「朮」does not provide sound or meaning here, because it was originally something
else.

* * *

Lastly, in Simplified Chinese,「术」is the official form of「術」.

* * *

**References:**

  * 季旭昇《說文新證》
  * [小學堂](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/)

