xiān

beforehand; first; earlier

at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)

legs (儿) stepping off the earth (土) = going first, ahead

The image is of a person's legs already moving forward from the ground — one step ahead of everyone else. That sense of being out in front grounds all the meanings: beforehand, earlier, first.

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LegsSemantic
EarthSemantic

Words with 先

先民

xiān mín

forebears

遥遥领先

yáo yáo lǐng xiān

(idiom) a long way in front; to lead by a wide margin

开先

kāi xiān

at first

开路先锋

kāi lù xiān fēng

pioneer; trailblazer

革命先烈

gé mìng xiān liè

martyr to the revolution

预先

yù xiān

beforehand; in advance

领先

lǐng xiān

to lead

领先地位

lǐng xiān dì wèi

lead(ing) position

风水先生

fēng shuǐ xiān sheng

feng shui master

一马当先

yī mǎ dāng xiān

(idiom) to take the lead

不首先使用

bù shǒu xiān shǐ yòng

no first use (policy for nuclear weapons)

事先

shì xiān

in advance

More characters with 土