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轫 (rèn), written in traditional form as 軔, is a phono-semantic compound combining the semantic radical 车 (車, 'vehicle') and the phonetic 刃 (rèn, meaning 'blade'). Its original meaning is a wooden chock wedged under a cart's wheel to prevent it from rolling when parked. Since removing this brake is the necessary first step to move the cart, the character naturally took on the extended sense of starting, initiating, or setting something in motion, as in the compound 发轫 (fārèn).
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