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羝 is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 羊 (sheep/goat) places it in the ovine category, while the phonetic component 氐 (meaning 'base' or 'foundation') supplies the pronunciation. It denotes a ram, specifically an uncastrated male sheep kept for breeding, and appears in classical and agricultural texts with this precise meaning, differentiating it from broader sheep terms under the same radical. The radical thus signals the general animal domain, and the phonetic element gives the sound, together forming a specialized term in traditional pastoral vocabulary.
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