About
The character "彘" derives from an early pictographic concept of a pig impaled by an arrow, which is embedded in its contemporary structure through the components "彑" denoting a pig's head, "矢" for arrow, and "匕" for dagger, reflecting its original sense of a hunted or slaughtered pig. Over time, its meaning expanded to a general term for pig in classical Chinese texts, but it gradually declined in everyday usage, becoming an archaic word mainly preserved in historical or literary contexts.
Etymology Hide
