Definitions

péng luxuriant growth

Etymology

About

The character 芃 (péng) is a phono-semantic compound with the grass radical 艹 (cǎo) on top, indicating its connection to plants, and 凡 (fán) below, providing the pronunciation. Etymologically, it was created to describe lush, vigorous vegetation. This meaning is well-established in classical texts like the Book of Songs (Shijing), where it vividly depicts thriving crops or flourishing grasslands. While its core sense of verdant growth has remained consistent, 芃 is now chiefly found in classical literature, poetic language, or as a personal name conveying vitality, rather than in everyday modern Chinese.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern