who, what

孰 is composed of 享 (enjoy) and 丮 (catch). 享 is a pictograph of an ancient ancestral temple, while 丮 depicts a person with both hands stretched forward. Therefore, 孰 conveys the idea of offering sacrifices to the ancestors. Its original meaning is cooked food, but this sense was later taken over by the character 熟. Among the ancestors enshrined in the temple, some are from distant generations and have never been seen. From this, 孰 extended to the meanings of “who” and “what.”