About
砒 is a phono-semantic compound featuring the semantic radical 石 ('stone, mineral') and the phonetic component 比. The radical categorizes the character as a mineral or inorganic substance, while 比 supplies the pronunciation. This character denotes arsenic, a highly toxic element, and is confined almost entirely to chemical and medical terminology. It is best known from 砒霜 (arsenic trioxide), a compound that gained historical notoriety as a deadly poison in traditional pharmacology and forensics. 砒 has no significant metaphorical or everyday uses; its meaning remains firmly within the scientific domain.
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