About
郤 is a phono-semantic compound: 谷 (valley) on the left gives the sound, while 阝 (a form of 邑, 'city') on the right denotes a place or region. It originated as the name of a specific location and became a prominent Zhou-dynasty surname. Later, the character was borrowed phonetically for 隙, acquiring senses like cracks, gaps, and figuratively, discord or grudges. In modern use, 郤 still appears as a surname, but its other meanings have largely been reabsorbed by the standard character 隙.
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