About
垩 is a phono-semantic compound denoting white earth or chalk. Its semantic radical 土 (earth) at the base indicates a mineral or soil-related meaning, while the top component 亚 provides the pronunciation. In its traditional form 堊, the phonetic element is the unsimplified character 亞. Historically, the term referred to white clay or chalk used in construction and whitewashing. It also appears in modern geological terms, notably in the translation for the Cretaceous period, which literally means "chalk era".
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