戚

The character "戚" derives from an early pictographic concept of a weapon, integrating the element "戉" representing a form of axe, with "尗" likely serving a phonetic function. Initially denoting a ceremonial or martial axe, its usage expanded through linguistic borrowing to indicate close kinship, as in the term "亲戚" for family relatives, a semantic shift probably facilitated by shared auditory qualities with related words. Alongside this, the character developed a parallel meaning associated with sorrow and distress, potentially influenced by the emotional weight of familial ties or ritual contexts. Its traditional form, unchanged in structure, still reflects these compounded meanings through its compositional parts, bridging its original martial connotation with later social and emotional applications.