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The character 荤 (simplified) / 葷 (traditional) is a phono-semantic compound. Its semantic component is the grass radical 艹 at the top, indicating its original meaning: pungent vegetables like garlic, onions, and leeks, which were forbidden in Buddhist monastic diets. The phonetic component below is 军 / 軎, which supplies the pronunciation but not the meaning. Over time, as dietary prohibitions broadened, the character's sense expanded from specific herbs to all prohibited foods, and finally to its modern primary meaning of meat or any non-vegetarian dish.
Etymology Hide
