About
The character 铩, with its traditional form 鎩, combines the metal radical 金 and the component 殺 meaning 'to kill', reflecting its initial association with a metal weapon. It originally denoted a type of spear with a long blade, and over time its meaning expanded to include the act of injuring or maiming. This semantic shift led to the modern usage where 铩 appears in compounds such as 铩羽, which literally means 'to damage feathers' and conveys the figurative sense of suffering a defeat.
Etymology Hide
