About
As a phono-semantic compound, 揄 features the hand radical 扌 on the left, situating it within the domain of manual actions, while the component 俞 on the right provides its phonetic value. Its original meaning involved physical acts like pulling, dragging, or drawing something out by hand, which directly aligns with the semantic role of the hand radical. The character later developed an abstract usage, most notably in the compound 揶揄, where it conveys the sense of mocking or ridiculing someone, shifting from a concrete physical action to a social behavior.
Etymology Hide
