Definitions
sacrifice
Etymology
About
The character "禋" is structured with the ritual radical "示" on the left, denoting its association with religious ceremonies, and the component "垔" on the right, which primarily functions as a phonetic indicator but may allude to the rising smoke of offerings. Etymologically, it designated a specific ancient sacrifice involving the burning of祭品 so that the smoke would ascend to the heavens, a practice recorded in early classical works. Over time, its meaning expanded from this narrow ritual context to refer more generally to solemn and respectful sacrifices made to deities or ancestors in later literary and historical texts, while its traditional graphical composition remained unchanged.
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