About
The character 袂, meaning "sleeve", is a phono-semantic compound consisting of the clothing radical 衤 and the phonetic component 夬, which together indicate its association with garments and its historical pronunciation. Its etymology is directly tied to the semantic field of clothing, with the radical 衤 derived from 衣 (clothing) and 夬 serving as a sound indicator. The character's primary meaning has remained focused on the sleeve, though in earlier literary contexts it could specify the cuff or the opening of a sleeve. The structural composition of 袂 has persisted without alteration, maintaining the relationship between its semantic and phonetic elements.
Etymology Hide
