The Chinese word **陶瓷 (táocí)**, meaning "ceramics" or "pottery," is a compound word formed by combining two semantically related characters: **陶 (táo)**, which historically refers to earthenware or pottery (a broader, often coarser category), and **瓷 (cí)**, which specifically refers to porcelain (a finer, vitrified ceramic). This structure follows a common pattern in Chinese lexicon where two morphemes with similar or overlapping meanings are joined to create a single, more comprehensive or generic term. In this case, the combination encompasses the entire spectrum of fired clay products, from simple pottery to refined porcelain, with the order (陶 before 瓷) reflecting a logical progression from the general to the specific or the historically earlier to the later developed.