The word 名妓 is formed by combining the character 名, meaning "famous" or "renowned", with the character 妓, meaning "prostitute" or "courtesan". 妓 itself is composed of the semantic component 女 (woman) and the phonetic component 支 (indicating pronunciation). Together, 名 modifies 妓 to create a compound meaning "famous prostitute" or "celebrated courtesan", specifying a prostitute who is well-known.