About
The character 郅 is a phono-semantic compound with 至 (zhì, "to arrive") on the left, providing the phonetic element, and 阝 on the right, a radical representing a city derived from 邑 (yì). Originally, it served as a toponym for a place or city, later becoming a Chinese surname. In classical literature, it also developed the adjectival or adverbial sense of "extremely" or "greatly", an extension from the notion of "reaching the utmost limit" inherent in 至.
Etymology Hide
