About
骝 is a phono-semantic compound denoting a bay horse with a red body and a black mane and tail. Its structure combines the horse radical 马 on the left, placing it in the semantic category of equines, with the phonetic component 留 on the right, which provides its pronunciation. The traditional form is 騮, using the unsimplified horse radical 馬. Historically, numerous specialized characters existed to describe precise horse coat colors, reflecting the animal’s vital agricultural and military roles. In literature and veterinary contexts, 骝 serves as a specific term, pairing an equine classifier with a distinct phonetic marker.
Etymology Hide
