The word "陨星" is formed by combining the character "陨", meaning to fall, which is a phono-semantic compound consisting of the radical "阝" (a variant of "阜", suggesting height or mound) and the phonetic component "员", with the character "星", meaning star, also a phono-semantic compound composed of "日" (sun or celestial body) and the phonetic element "生"; together they literally denote a falling star or meteorite.