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镳 primarily refers to the metal bit in a horse's mouth for control and the decorative elements on its bridle. As a phono-semantic compound, its traditional form 鑣 combines the semantic radical 金 (metal), indicating the object's material, with the phonetic component 麃 (biāo), which provides the pronunciation. The simplified form uses the radical 钅. The meaning later broadened to include a throwing weapon or dart used in ancient times, leading to its common occurrence in literature about armed escorts and bodyguard services.
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