About
The character "牟" began as a pictographic representation of a cow's moo, designed to capture the concept of sound issuing from the animal's mouth. Over time, its form stabilized into a compound structure featuring the component "厶" positioned above "牛", a configuration that stylizes the earlier illustrative intent. While its etymological root lies in bovine vocalization, the character's meaning broadened to encompass notions of seeking or acquiring, evident in later lexical formations like "牟利" where it denotes the act of pursuing gain. This semantic extension illustrates how phonetic adaptation and contextual use allowed the character to accumulate a functional range beyond its original onomatopoeic purpose.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他做生意从不牟利。
我们反对牟取不正当利益。
牟先生是这里的负责人。
古代牟氏家族很有名望。
这种行为是为了牟取私利。
奸商企图牟取暴利。
他的动机纯粹是牟利，缺乏道德。
这家公司不以牟利为立身之本。