The Chinese word 股东 (gǔdōng), meaning "shareholder" or "stockholder", is a compound term formed through semantic combination. It is composed of two characters: 股 (gǔ), which historically refers to a "thigh" or "section" but in modern finance specifically denotes a "share" or "stock" in a company; and 东 (dōng), which literally means "east" but is an abbreviation of 东家 (dōngjiā), an ancient term for "proprietor" or "master". Thus, the term 股东 literally and conceptually translates to "the owner of shares", perfectly encapsulating the identity of an individual or entity that holds equity in a corporation.