The word 拖延 is formed through the combination of two characters, each contributing a vivid physical action to create a unified concept. The first character, 拖, pictographically suggests a hand (扌) pulling something, conveying the sense of "to drag" or "to pull along". The second, 延, carries the meaning of "to prolong" or "to stretch out", originally associated with the idea of a long, continuing path. When placed together, they create a powerful compound image: the act of dragging one's feet and stretching out time, visually and conceptually merging to embody the essence of procrastination, to delay or put off by literally "dragging out" the timeline of an action.