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掮 (qián) is a phono-semantic compound that originally meant to carry a load on one's shoulders. It combines the hand radical 扌 (shǒu) with 肩 (jiān, shoulder), which provides both the core meaning of 'shoulder' and the pronunciation qián. Over time, the literal sense of bearing a physical burden extended metaphorically to taking on responsibilities or acting as an intermediary, leading to the modern word 掮客 (qiánkè), a broker or middleman who facilitates deals between two parties.
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