About
腴 is a phono-semantic compound character originally referring to the soft fat on an animal's or human's belly. It combines the semantic radical 月 (representing flesh, which categorizes body-related characters) with the phonetic component 臾, which indicates its pronunciation. Over time, its meaning broadened from physical fatness to suggest fertility and abundance, especially regarding land. It is thus commonly used to describe rich, productive soil or, metaphorically, plumpness and affluence.
Etymology Hide
