The word "可否" is formed through lexical compounding, combining two distinct modal verbs: "可" (kě), meaning "can" or "may", and "否" (fǒu), meaning "not" or "negation". It functions as a classical and formal disjunctive question word that merges the affirmative and negative possibilities into a single term, directly translating to "can or cannot" or "may I or may I not". This structure allows it to politely and concisely pose a yes/no inquiry, such as "Is it permissible?" or "Could you?", by inherently containing both sides of the binary choice within its formation.