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The Chinese character 檑 is a phono-semantic compound. Its left-side semantic radical 木 indicates the material, wood or tree, while the right-side phonetic component 雷 provides the pronunciation, “léi,” meaning thunder. This character specifically refers to a heavy wooden log, sometimes studded with spikes, used defensively in ancient warfare to roll down slopes or walls onto attackers. The wood radical points to its composition, and the phonetic component may also evoke the thunderous sound of such a massive object crashing downward.