Definitions
an atom group
Etymology phono-semantic
Phonetic:
㐬
About
The character "巯" was devised in the modern era as a technical term for the mercapto group in chemistry, with its traditional form written as "巰". This traditional character structurally integrates the water radical "氵" with the component "巠", which historically functions as a phonetic element and suggests a conceptual link to flowing or reactive substances, reflecting the behavior of thiol compounds. The simplified form "巯" alters this composition by replacing the water radical with "巛", a graphical element denoting rivers, and modifying the right component to "㐬", an orthographic simplification of "巠". Since its inception, the character's meaning has remained confined to this specialized chemical context without expanding into broader linguistic use.