About
The character 荇 is a phono-semantic compound denoting an aquatic plant, the fringed water lily (Nymphoides peltata). Its structure combines the semantic radical 艹, indicating vegetation, with the phonetic component 行 below it, which provides the pronunciation. Historically, the character has maintained this singular botanical meaning, appearing in classical texts and poetry to describe the floating plants found in shallow waters. This direct pairing of a plant classifier with a phonetic marker firmly anchors its definition to this specific species.
Etymology Hide
