About
蓑 is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical 艹 on top signifies vegetation or plant material, and 衰 below supplies the sound suō. Historically, it denoted a traditional East Asian raincoat woven from dried grass, straw, or palm leaves, utilitarian rainwear essential for pre-modern farmers, fishermen, and laborers working outdoors in inclement weather. Today, with such raincoats obsolete, the character appears primarily in classical poetry, historical literature, and the compound 蓑衣 (suōyī).
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