The word "拨号" (bōhào) is a verb-object compound formed by combining the character "拨" (bō), meaning "to dial", "to turn", or "to poke", with the character "号" (hào), meaning "number". It literally translates to "to dial the number", a term that originated from the action of physically turning a rotary dial on a traditional telephone to input a numerical sequence. As such, it captures the specific, manual process of establishing a telephone connection and has persisted in usage to describe the act of entering a number to make a call, even on modern push-button or touchscreen devices.