Definitions
sound of a thing flying fast by; whoosh; cracking sound; Taiwan pr. [huò]
sound of flaying
Etymology
About
The character "砉" is a phono-semantic compound composed of the semantic component "石" (stone), which suggests a quality of hardness or a substance, and the phonetic component "丯", an obsolete character representing the sound huò. Its core meaning has consistently been an onomatopoeia representing the sharp, sudden sound produced when a hard object is split or cut, such as stone cracking or a knife swiftly parting flesh and bone. This specific sonic meaning was extended in classical texts, most notably in the Zhuangzi, to describe the actions of skilled butchery or dissection, where the sound denoted the smooth and precise separation of joints. In modern usage, the character is exceptionally rare and primarily encountered in fixed literary expressions or as a deliberate classical allusion to those earlier sonic and procedural connotations.