| 保 bǎo |
| protect ; bless |
| 保护 bǎo hù |
| 保佑 bǎo yòu | |
Graphically, a grown-up holds a baby dressed in swaddling clothes in her arms. Hence, its original meaning was “to bring up”, “to cultivate” etc. It extends to mean “to protect,” ”to bless”, etc. In ancient books, it was interchangeable with 褓and 堡. |