Definitions
millipede
Etymology
About
The character 蚿 is a specialized classical Chinese term for a type of arthropod, most often a millipede. It is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 虫 on the left indicates it belongs to the category of insects or creeping creatures, while the component 玄 on the right provides the pronunciation 'xián'. This method of using the insect radical was a systematic way to name various creatures. Though linguistically precise, 蚿 never entered common usage and remains confined to classical biological texts and historical dictionaries.