The word 股票 (gǔpiào) is formed by combining two meaningful characters to create a new, composite concept. The first character, 股 (gǔ), carries the core idea of a "share" or "thigh", historically extending to mean a portion or division of something larger, like a company's capital. The second character, 票 (piào), means a "ticket", "note", or "certificate". Therefore, the compound literally and conceptually represents "share certificates", tangible documents that certify one's portion of ownership in an enterprise, a meaning which has seamlessly extended to refer to the abstract shares or stocks themselves in the financial market.