The idiom "奄奄一息" is formed through a descriptive and intensifying structure: the reduplicated adjective "奄奄" (yǎnyǎn), meaning "feeble" or "fading," emphatically modifies the noun phrase "一息" (yīxī), which literally means "one breath." Together, they create a vivid metaphorical image of a life sustained by only the faintest remaining breath, depicting a state of being on the very verge of death or extinction. Thus, the term figuratively describes anything—from a person to a movement—that is critically weakened and dwindling to its final moments.