About
The character 垛, composed of the earth radical 土 and the phonetic component 朵 which originally depicted a hanging cluster of flowers or fruit, inherently suggests a solid, piled-up mass rising from the ground. Its core meaning has consistently referred to a solid, often rectangular mound or platform, initially serving practical agricultural and defensive purposes such as a raised earthen base for storing harvested grain or a fortified buttress reinforcing a city wall. From this tangible foundation, its application extended to architectural features, specifically denoting the regular, tooth-like battlements atop a rampart, drawing a visual parallel to the solid, recurring units of a defensive structure. Over time, while retaining its architectural sense, the character's most common usage shifted back towards denoting any stout, neatly stacked pile, such as a haystack or a stack of firewood, thereby maintaining its fundamental concept of accumulated solidity derived from its etymological construction.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
麦子堆成了垛。
农场里有许多干草垛。
他把收割的稻草整齐地码成了垛。
孩子们喜欢在草垛后面玩捉迷藏。
丰收后，田边堆起了一个个金黄的谷垛。
为了防止雨水，他们用塑料布盖住了新垒的柴垛。
城墙上的垛口在夕阳下显得格外庄严。
这些砖垛不仅起到了支撑作用，还构成了独特的景观。