About
The character 蟊 is a phono-semantic compound: the insect radical 虫 at the bottom places it among insects, and the upper part, composed of 矛 (a spear) and 攴, indicates the sound. In its original sense, it designated a pest that consumed crop roots and inflicted heavy agricultural damage. Later, by metaphorical extension, it came to refer to anyone who undermines society or an organization from the inside, and this figurative meaning is now typically found in compound words denoting saboteurs, traitors, or thieves that harm the collective good.
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