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The traditional form of 踯 is 躑, a phono-semantic compound combining the foot radical 足 (zú) on the left, which indicates walking or movement, with a phonetic element on the right. That phonetic was originally the complex character 鄭 (zhèng), later simplified to 郑. 踯 occurs almost exclusively in the classical binome 踯躅 (zhízhú), meaning to pace back and forth hesitantly or loiter. Both characters share the foot radical, and the compound conveys prolonged indecisive movement; the character is rarely used on its own.
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