About
歙 is a phono-semantic compound: the right component 欠, depicting a person yawning or exhaling, places the character in the semantic field of breathing and oral actions. The left component 合 ("to close, join") supplies both the sound and the sense of contraction or drawing together. As a verb, it originally meant to inhale or to contract, often used in contrast with exhaling or expanding. It also names a historic county in Anhui Province, renowned for producing fine inkstones for calligraphy and painting.
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