Abstract: In the word “xiaoshuo”, “xiao” means that the form is short and the content is trivial, but “shuo” means explaining and illustrating. The comparison of “shuo”, “yu”, “sushuo”, “liyu” can confirm this idea. The meaning of “shuo” restricts that the works named after “xiaoshuo” give priority to explain and describe. The early works of “xiaoshuo”, such as Qingshi Zi, Yiyin Shuo and Yinyun Xiaoshuo all have the distinctive characteristics of reasoning.

Key words: shuo, semantic, ancient xiaoshuo, reasoning feature

摘要： 在“小说”一词中，“小”指形式的短小与内容方面的琐碎，而“说”则主要是解释、解说的意思。通过对“说”与“语”、“俗说”与“俚语”等词的比较，可以印证这一看法。在对以“说”命名的作品及其文本的分析来看，“说”所蕴含的解释之义限定了以其命名的文字以解说、说明为主。而从古小说作品来看，《青史子》《伊尹说》《殷芸小说》等都具有鲜明的说理色彩。

关键词: 说, 语义, 古小说, 说理特征