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The character 镣 (liào), traditionally written as 鐐, is a phono-semantic compound denoting metal fetters or shackles for binding prisoners. Its left component, the metal radical 钅 (jīn, simplified from 釒), specifies the material of these restraints. The right component, 尞 (liào), provides the phonetic element for its pronunciation. Historically tied to the penal system, it originally referred to heavy iron rings fastened around a prisoner's ankles. While occasional early classical texts used it to denote fine silver or precious metals, owing to its metallic semantic root, its primary meaning solidified around chains and imprisonment, a sense it retains in modern legal and historical usage.
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