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榱 is a phono-semantic compound naming the rafters of a traditional building. Its structure pairs the wood radical 木 on the left, indicating the wooden material essential to such construction, with the phonetic element 衰 (shuāi or cuī) on the right, which supplies the pronunciation. The meaning is confined to classical architecture: it refers to the sloping beams that extend from the roof ridge down to the eaves, holding the roofing materials in place. Because this term is highly specialized, it never entered modern spoken language and survives only in historical texts, architectural treatises, and classical poems that depict grand buildings or pavilions.
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