Definitions
flint; (metonym) arrowhead
Etymology
About
砮 is a phono-semantic compound that offers insight into historical material culture and early weaponry. It is composed of the semantic radical 石 (shí, 'stone'), which indicates the material, and the phonetic 奴 (nú), which supplies the pronunciation. The character denotes a stone arrowhead, flint, or pebble used as a projectile in bows and catapults, a meaning that reflects the pre-metallurgical period when such ammunition was crafted from stone. It appears mainly in military texts, historical chronicles, and archaeological accounts of ancient arms.
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