About
The character 藜 refers to a coarse, weedy plant in the goosefoot family, commonly known as pigweed or lamb's quarters. It is a phono-semantic compound: the top semantic radical 艹 indicates its classification as a herbaceous plant, while the bottom phonetic component 黎 provides the pronunciation "li". Historically, the tough stems of mature plants were often made into walking sticks for the elderly, giving the character occasional literary associations with old age and rustic life. Its young leaves were also traditionally eaten as a famine food or basic vegetable by impoverished rural populations.
Etymology Hide
