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The character 掸 (dǎn), the simplified form of 撣, is a phono-semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 (shǒu) indicates a manual action, and the phonetic 单 (dān) supplies the sound. Its core meaning is to dust or brush off lightly, a quick, sweeping hand motion to flick away dust or dirt from surfaces or clothing. From this verb sense, it also came to be a noun for a feather duster. An extended geographic and ethnographic use, pronounced shàn, refers to the Shan people or the Shan State in Southeast Asia.
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