Definitions

sōu earwig, millipede, spider

Etymology phono-semantic

insect

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "螋" is structured as a phono-semantic compound, combining the semantic component "虫", which denotes insects, with the phonetic component "叟", guiding its pronunciation. Historically, this character was formulated specifically for use in the binomial term "蠼螋", referring to earwigs, and its meaning has remained narrowly tied to this entomological context without broadening or shifting. The compositional elements of "螋" have been consistently maintained in its standard form, reflecting the typical method of creating characters for specialized biological nomenclature in Chinese.