The word 通缉 is formed through the conceptual fusion of two characters: 通 (tōng), which carries the meaning "to circulate, to make known throughout", and 缉 (jī), which means "to seize or apprehend". Together, they combine the idea of widely circulating an order with the specific action of capture, thus creating the single, unified concept of "to issue a wanted order (for an arrest)", or more simply, "to put on a wanted list".