Definitions
to squat; to stop
Etymology
About
As a phono-semantic compound, 跱 uses the foot radical 足 (zú) on the left to indicate its connection to lower-limb actions. The right component, 寺 (sì), which commonly means temple, here serves only as the phonetic element for pronunciation. The character’s core meaning is the physical act of standing still or halting. From this, it extends metaphorically to the psychological state of hesitating or lacking the resolve to proceed. Thus, the foot radical captures both the literal posture of stillness and the figurative sense of being stuck due to uncertainty.
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