Definitions

gài to infringe upon a trademark

Etymology phono-semantic

overflow

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character is a phono-semantic compound, with the radical (dish/vessel) at the bottom and the components and forming the upper and left sections. Its original meaning was to lean against or place something closely beside another object. This physical proximity led to the commercial sense of infringing a trademark or passing off counterfeit goods under a false brand name, in effect, 'leaning' on another's reputation. Today, is highly specialized, appearing almost exclusively in business, copyright, and historical legal discussions of counterfeit merchandise.