Definitions
(bound form) widow
Etymology phono-semantic
Semantic:
女
About
A phono-semantic compound, 嫠 combines the female radical 女 at the bottom with a top component derived from 釐, which gives the sound. The character means specifically "widow" , a woman whose husband has died and who has not remarried. The 女 radical restricts the term to women, and unlike many characters that acquire extended senses, 嫠 has carried this precise definition throughout classical and historical literature without developing additional layers of meaning.
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