Definitions
(herb)
Etymology
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The character 蔙 is an archaic term for a specific plant found in ancient Chinese texts. Structurally, it is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical 艹 at the top signals that it belongs to the plant category, and the lower element 旋 (meaning 'revolve' or 'spin') indicates the pronunciation xuǎn. While the meaning of 旋 might suggest a plant with a twisting stem or spiraling growth, its primary role here is phonetic. Due to its highly specialized, likely regional botanical reference, the character fell out of common use and survives only in historical literary archives.
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