About
The character 荏, structured with the grass radical 艹 above the phonetic component 任, originally denoted the perilla plant. Its meaning later expanded to encompass connotations of weakness and pliability, evident in the compound 荏弱, while in the phrase 光阴荏苒 it contributes to describing the gradual passage of time. This semantic development from a specific botanical reference to more abstract usages took place without any change to the character's compositional form.
Etymology Hide
