About
槁 is a phono-semantic compound formed from the semantic radical 木 (tree, wood, or plant matter) and the phonetic component 高. It originally denotes wood or trees that have become dried out, withered, or dead. From this literal sense of desiccated vegetation, the character's usage expanded metaphorically to describe a person's appearance as gaunt and haggard, or their state of mind as emotionally exhausted, thus linking the physical state of withered wood to a depleted state of human vitality.
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