The Chinese word **磁铁 (cítiě)**, meaning "magnet," is a compound word formed through semantic combination, where each character contributes its core meaning to create a new, specific concept. The first character, **磁 (cí)**, means "magnetic" or "porcelain" (historically associated with compass needles), and in this context, it specifically denotes the property of magnetism. The second character, **铁 (tiě)**, means "iron," the primary material historically used to create magnets. Together, they literally form "magnetic iron," a perfectly logical and descriptive term that originated from lodestone (a naturally magnetic iron ore) and was later extended to all artificial magnets, exemplifying the common Chinese word-formation method of combining meaningful morphemes.