Etymology
According to Kung Fu Magazine, the Chinese character for Lèi (擂) combines the word for "thunder" (léi 雷) with the radical for "hand" (shǒu 手). It can mean, "to give an open challenge." But taken literally, it means to “beat (a drum)". Tái means "stage" or "platform." It is also commonly referred to as a Dǎ lèi tái (Traditional: 打擂臺 Simplified: 打擂台 - "Fight Beat (a drum) Platform"). The character for Dǎ combines the word for “robust or vigorous” (dīng 丁) with the radical for "hand" (shǒu 手). This can mean, "to strike, hit, beat, or fight". In Cantonese, using the Wade-Giles superscript number system, Lei tai is pronounced Leui4 Toi4. A common English rendering of this is "Lui Toi or Loey Toy". Da lei tai is pronounced Da1 leui4 toi4 or Da2 leui4 toi4.
It is important to note the Chinese military once used a Zhong Jun Lei Gu Tai (中军擂鼓台 – “Central Military Drum Beating Platform”) to drum out commands on the battlefield and to tell time in the capital city. (see Gulou and Zhonglou) Three kingdoms general Zhang Fei used a “drum beating platform” to teach his soldiers troop movements. It is possible that the lei tai received its name from this type of platform, since a superior fighter might "beat" his opponent like a drum.
Read more about this topic: Lei Tai
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)