The word "牺牲品" is formed by combining the morpheme "牺牲", meaning sacrifice, with the morpheme "品", meaning item or object. "牺" and "牲" individually refer to ritual animals, together denoting a sacrificial offering. Attaching "品" specifies it as the entity being sacrificed, creating a compound term that literally means "sacrificial item" and is used to describe a victim or something offered up, often in a metaphorical context.