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镗, simplified from 鏜, combines the semantic radical 钅 ('metal', from the traditional radical 金) with the phonetic component 堂 ('hall'). Historically, it was an onomatopoeic word for the loud, resonant sound of striking metal instruments like large bells or gongs. In modern Chinese, it was borrowed phonetically to denote the machining process of boring, giving rise to terms such as 镗床 (boring machine). The metal radical aptly links the ancient acoustic sense and the modern industrial application.
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