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缃, the simplified form of 緗, is a phono-semantic compound built around the silk radical 纟 (originally 糸), which points to textiles or fabric colors, and the phonetic element 相, providing the sound. The character names a light, pale yellow, the natural hue of undyed silk and the dye color used for book covers and scrolls in antiquity. Because scrolls and documents were frequently wrapped or bound in this shade, the term acquired a metonymic association with books, literature, and scholarly pursuits, demonstrating how a specialized color term can expand to cover the objects it colored.
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