The word 酗酒 is formed by combining the character 酗, which specifically denotes a reckless, excessive, or addictive tendency (historically and primarily related to alcohol), with the character 酒, which means "alcohol" or "liquor". The first character provides the sense of uncontrolled excess, while the second specifies the object of that excess. Together, they create a single concept meaning "to drink alcohol to excess" or "alcoholism", where the meaning of the whole is directly built from this semantic fusion of "addictive excess" + "alcohol".