The word "勋章" is formed by combining the character "勋", which denotes merit or achievement and is itself composed of the radical "力" indicating effort and a phonetic component, with the character "章", meaning badge or insignia, derived from historical forms representing a distinctive symbol. Together, they create a compound where "勋" specifies the reason for the award and "章" denotes the physical object, resulting in the meaning "medal" or "decoration".