About
褫 (chǐ) is a formal or classical verb meaning to strip off clothing, deprive of rank, or forcefully remove. It is a phono-semantic compound: the left component, the clothing radical 衤 (yī), provides the semantic category related to garments, reflecting its literal sense of undressing. The right component, 虒 (sī/chǐ), serves as the phonetic element. While its base meaning is the physical removal of robes, in historical and legal contexts it often metaphorically denotes the stripping of official titles or privileges, using the removal of ceremonial garments as a symbol for demotion.
Etymology Hide
