Definitions

yīn iron-gray (horse)

Etymology

About

refers to a horse with a mixed grey-and-white coat, giving a dappled or piebald appearance. It is a phono-semantic compound: the horse radical on the left indicates the meaning, while on the right suggests the pronunciation. The traditional form uses the unsimplified horse radical . In classical literature and historical records, this character categorized horses by coat pattern in military and imperial stables, reflecting a specialized equestrian vocabulary rather than everyday language.