About
Etymologically, the traditional character "穢" combines the "grain" radical 禾 with the component 歲, which historically functioned as a phonetic indicator and contributed to the meaning of overgrown or untended fields, linking it to concepts of decay and neglect. From this origin in agricultural impurity, the term's application expanded to describe physical filth and was subsequently metaphorically applied to denote moral corruption or spiritual defilement in various literary and philosophical contexts. The graphical evolution of the character involved a simplification of its phonetic part to "岁" in the modern form "秽", which maintained the semantic association with impurity through the retained radical while adopting a more streamlined structure.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这个地方很污秽。
他清除了地上的秽物。
房间里的秽气让人难受。
我们必须处理这些污秽的东西。
看到这么污秽的环境，他皱起了眉头。
她抱怨说，这里的秽物太多了。
他的言语中充满了秽语，令人不悦。
尽管努力清洁，角落仍残留着些许秽迹。