# 沙音
## Old Korean
### Alternative forms

* 三 (*sam-) (alternative phonogramic form, used in a c. 1170 gloss of Vol. 35 of the Avatamsaka Sutra)
* 沙 (*saM-) (abbreviation)
* 氵 (*saM-) (graphic abbreviation)
* 爲 (*SAM-) (logogram)

### Pronunciation

The verb is attested in two different phonogramic forms, 沙音 and 三, both of which are uncontroversially reconstructed as *sam-.

### Verb

沙音 (*sam-)
* to act for the sake of; for
** 1120, King Yejong of Goryeo, “悼二將歌 (Doijang-ga)”, in 平山申氏系譜 (Pyeongsan Sin-ssi Gyebo) [Genealogy of the Pyeongsan Sin descent group]:魂是去賜矣中三烏賜敎職the office that was granted for the sake of his soul having departed
** 12th century, Interpretive gugyeol glosses to Vol. 6 of the Avatamsaka Sutra, Zhou version:諸菩薩$^尸$[爲]$^氵$For the sake of all the bodhisattvas(N.B. Bracketed terms were ignored when read.)
** c. 1250, Interpretive gugyeol glosses to the Humane King Sutra:人中師子衆$^衣$[爲]$^{沙音}$說The masters and disciples among the people preach for the sake of the sentient beings(N.B. Gugyeol glyphs are given in non-abbreviated forms. Bracketed terms were ignored when read.)
* to take as; to render as
** c. 1250, Interpretive gugyeol glosses to the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra:涅槃$^乙$首[爲]$^{沙良}$taking nirvana as my goal(N.B. Gugyeol glyphs are given in non-abbreviated forms. Bracketed terms were ignored when read.)
** c. 1250, Interpretive gugyeol glosses to the Yogācārabhūmi-Śāstra:四種法$^乙$依支[爲]$^{沙隱}$who has taken the Four Essential Dharmas as his support(N.B. Gugyeol glyphs are given in non-abbreviated forms. Bracketed terms were ignored when read.)

#### Usage notes

When expressing the sense of "to take A as B", Old Korean appears to have natively used the expression "A乙 B沙音", with A taking the accusative particle 乙 (*-ol) and B combining directly with the verb *sam- without an intervening particle.
Gugyeol texts are all close translations of a Chinese original, and the Literary Chinese text often used 以 (yǐ, “to use”) in the construction "以 (yǐ)A為／为B" for the sense of "to take A as B". These constructions were translated into Old Korean as "A乙 以厼 B沙音", with A continuing to take the accusative particle but now becoming the object of the verb 以 (*PSU-) instead, with the literal meaning "to take as B while using A".
In Middle Korean, however, "to take A as B" is generally expressed as "A로 (-lwo) Bᄅᆞᆯ (-lol) 삼다 (samta)", with B taking the accusative particle ᄅᆞᆯ (Yale: -lol) and A now taking the instrumental particle 로 (Yale: -lwo). An Ye-ri theorizes that this was the result of syntactic influence from the Chinese "以 (yǐ)A為／为B" construction, as Chinese 以 (yǐ) was usually perceived as being equivalent to the Korean instrumental particle 로 (Yale: -lwo). Thus speakers may have initially imitated the Chinese syntax by using the instrumental particle for A rather than the accusative, after which B was reanalyzed as being the direct object of 삼〯다〮 (Yale: sǎm-tá).

#### Descendants

* Middle Korean: 삼〯다〮 (sǎm-tá, “to render as; to take as”)
** Korean: 삼다 (samda, “to render as; to take as”)

### References

* 김성주 (Kim Seong-ju) (2005) “爲에 懸吐되는 口訣字와 기능 [The gugyeol glyphs glossed to "爲" and their functions]”, in Gugyeol Yeon'gu, volume 15, pages 27–53
* 안예리 (An Ye-ri) (2009) “'삼다' 구문의 통시적 변화 [samda gumunui tongsijeok byeonhwa, Diachronic change in the samta construction]”, in Han'gugeohak, volume 43, pages 179–206
* 황선엽 (Hwang Seon-yeop) (2015) “ko:<悼二將歌>의 해독 [The interpretation of Doijang-ga]”, in Gugyeol Yeon'gu, volume 35, pages 111–154