About
The character "荠", with its traditional form "薺", structurally integrates the grass radical "艹" to denote its botanical nature and the component "齊" as a phonetic element, which in the simplified version is replaced by "齐". Etymologically, this character has consistently referred to the shepherd's purse plant, an edible herb, and its semantic application has remained focused on this specific meaning throughout its historical usage.
Etymology Hide
