Definitions
in a hole
Etymology
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窋 (zhú or kū) is a phono-semantic compound: the cave/hole radical 穴 (xué) tops 出 (chū, 'to exit' or 'emerge'). 穴 ties the meaning to underground spaces and burrows, while 出 contributes phonetically in some historical readings and semantically reinforces the notion of emerging. The character originally described the act of emerging from a hole, cave, or burrow. In certain classical contexts, it also denoted something hanging down from a cave roof. Its meaning stayed tightly confined to these physical actions; it never broadened and now survives as an archaic term in classical poetry and historical dictionaries.
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