字形分析Character Analysis:
会意字。金文、小篆字形，从示，从儿、口。“儿”是古文“人”字。左边“示”表示神主牌位，右边是一个跪着张口祈祷的人，整个字像一个人跪在神主牌位前祷告的样子。
祝is a Logical Aggregate in both Bronze Character and Seal Character, consisting two major parts from left to right: 示 (礻, here means a memorial tablet placed in the center of a sacrificial altar) and 兄.(口plus 儿; 口 literally means mouth, and 儿 is the ancient written form of 人 and literally means human being, person, people) .
本义Original meaning:
用作名词，指古代祭祀时主持祭祀仪式、念颂词的人。(Originally used as a noun, means a person who is officially in charge of the sacrificial rites and addresses prayers to a god.)
Lily explains 祝 like this:
As being explained in our previous lesson, 示, in Oracle Bone writing, once born a quite close resemblance to the English letter, T, a pictograph which originally meant a sacrificial altar, or a memorial tablet placed in the center of a sacrificial altar. And it is now a very frequently used left radical, 礻, in Chinese characters, usually indicating some connection with sacrificial rites, or a practice of offering sacrifice to gods or ancestors. Take 口 as a man's mouth and 儿 as his two legs, so, you can see that the whole character of 祝 looks just like a person on his knees uttering prayers in front of a sacrificial altar or a memorial tablet. Nowadays, 祝 is more frequently used as a verb, which means to pray, express good wishes or congratulate.
