The word 录像 is formed by combining the character 录 (lù), which means "to record" or "to copy down", with the character 像 (xiàng), which means "image", "picture", or "likeness". Together, they create a compound word where the first character denotes the action and the second specifies the object of that action, literally meaning "to record images", which naturally evolved to mean "to videotape" or "video recording".