About
The phono-semantic compound 佗 historically meant to carry a burden. It combines the semantic radical 亻 (person), indicating human action, with the phonetic component 它 (originally depicting a snake), which provides the sound. In classical texts, 佗 also appeared as an early variant for the third-person pronoun, a usage later entirely replaced by other characters. Today, it is chiefly known as a formal proper noun, most notably referring to the legendary physician Hua Tuo.
Etymology Hide
