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The character 枵 is a phono-semantic compound, with the semantic component 木 (wood, tree) and the phonetic component 号 (which indicates its pronunciation). Initially, it denoted a hollow tree stump or an empty piece of wood, a meaning directly tied to the wood radical. Over time, the sense broadened to encompass emptiness or hollowness in a wider sense, frequently used to describe an empty stomach or something lacking substance. The evolution from a concrete, hollow wooden object to the abstract concept of internal emptiness illustrates how physical imagery can spawn descriptive language.
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