Inscriptional form of 係

𫯼 is an old inscriptional form identified as 係 (Mandarin xì), whose earliest recorded sense was “tie or bind.” Oracle-bone inscriptions—writing on animal bones and turtle shells for divination—preserve that sense; later, 係 also meant connection and “be/is,” and Cantonese still uses it for “is.” This glyph transcribes a graph from Shang–Zhou bronze inscriptions, writing on bronze objects.