Sleeve Character Mei

A sleeve word — but the exact part depends on language.

The earliest source to name is the Shuowen Jiezi, compiled around 100 CE. Its entry glosses 袂 as 袖 and builds the character from 衣 plus 夬; reference works disagree on whether 夬 adds sound or meaning. Classical clothing use, including a sleeve in ritual bearing, shows this began as garment vocabulary, not a digital symbol.

In Japanese, たもと means the bag-like lower part of a kimono sleeve, then by extension a nearby edge: 橋の袂 is beside a bridge and 山の袂 is at a mountain's foot. The reading appears in the late 8th-century Manyoshu; the 袂 spelling is attested in the Kokinshu in 905–914.

Why can 袂 mean parting?

The sleeve became shorthand for joining or leaving.

Chinese compounds turn sleeve movement into social shorthand: 联袂 means appearing or acting together, while 分袂 means parting. Japanese 袂を分かつ means breaking off a relationship. So a lone 袂 needs its language and neighboring words before you read it as a garment or a goodbye.