About
酊 (dǐng) is a phono-semantic compound. Its left component, the radical 酉, depicts an ancient wine vessel and represents alcohol or fermentation. The right component, 丁 (dīng), provides the phonetic value. Historically, it was primarily used in the compound mǐngdǐng, describing a state of helpless, complete intoxication. In modern medical and pharmacological contexts, it has been adopted to translate the English term "tincture", meaning a concentrated liquid extract of herbs or chemicals dissolved in an ethanol solution.
Etymology Hide
