heavenly stem
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Calque from Chinese
Noun
[edit]heavenly stem (plural heavenly stems)
- One of the ten terms used in East Asian cultures to represent
- (historical or astrology) A day of the traditional ten-day week.
- (mythology) One of the ten suns thought to appear in succession on its appointed day of the traditional week.
- (historical religion) The ancestor venerated with a ritual on the appointed day of the traditional week.
- (formal) An ordinal, used in similar contexts to Roman numerals in English numbering and outlining.
Usage notes
[edit]For a list of the heavenly stems, see the Chinese entry for
The heavenly stems are also used as the first component of each of the sixty terms of the Chinese sexagenary cycle (
Synonyms
[edit]Translations
[edit]set of ten terms in East Asian cultures
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