Definitions

dorsal fins; horse's mane

Etymology

About

The character is an anatomical noun that refers to the mane of a horse or the dorsal fins of a fish. Structured as a top-bottom phono-semantic compound, it combines the upper semantic radical 'long hair', categorizing it under animal hair, bristles, or similar appendages, with the lower phonetic component , which means 'elder' but here simply supplies the reading. In this way, a single descriptor denotes hair-like or fin-like ridges along an animal's upper body, while the hair radical positioned above the phonetic visually echoes the vertical growth of a mane.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern