Definitions

hóng cord for hat; vast

Etymology

About

is a phono-semantic compound originally referring to a silk cord or ribbon used to secure a traditional hat under the chin. It combines the semantic radical , representing silk or textiles, on the left with the phonetic component on the right, which gives the pronunciation. The traditional form features the unsimplified radical and the same phonetic. Over time, its meaning expanded metaphorically from the literal hat-string to abstract notions of vastness, boundlessness, and the world's encompassing extremities, a shift from a physical cord to spatial infinity.