Definitions
stupid; idiotic
Etymology
About
騃 consists of the semantic radical 馬 (horse) and the phonetic element 矣, which indicates pronunciation. The horse radical points to an original meaning tied to equine behavior, likely a stubborn, unresponsive, or slow horse. From this animal trait, the sense broadened to describe human foolishness or lack of intelligence. Over time, 騃 became so closely associated with 呆 that the two were used interchangeably in classical and other literary contexts.
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