About
The traditional form 櫺 is a phono-semantic compound of 木 (wood) and the phonetic component 霝. Its simplified form 棂 replaces 霝 with 灵 to reduce strokes. The semantic radical 木 indicates the character refers to wooden lattice work, specifically the mullions or grids of traditional Chinese windows and doors. These wooden strips served both to support paper or glass and to reinforce the frame structurally. The simplification to 棂 follows a common historical strategy of substituting complex phonetics with simpler components.