Definitions
chain; wire
Etymology
About
The character 鎍 is a phono-semantic compound. Its left side is the metal radical 金, indicating the material, and its right side is 索, which supplies both the pronunciation and the meaning of ropes or binding. The original sense is a metal chain or wire rope, a binding implement made from forged or drawn metal rather than natural fibers, used where extreme strength and durability are required. Because 索 by itself means rope or to search, adding the metal radical narrows the meaning to heavily reinforced metallic bindings. 鎍 serves as a specialized variant of 索 that explicitly marks the metal composition of the chain or wire.
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