The Chinese word 贵族 (guìzú), meaning "nobility" or "aristocrat", is formed by combining the character 贵, which conveys "valuable", "esteemed", or "of high status", with 族, meaning "clan", "family", or "group". This construction conceptually merges the idea of exalted social worth with that of a familial or collective lineage, historically reflecting the perception of aristocracy as esteemed families or groups holding privileged positions in society. Thus, the term directly embodies the notion of a high-status clan through the semantic fusion of its components.