About
The character "鲠", with its traditional form "鯁", structurally integrates the semantic component "鱼" for fish and the phonetic element "更", originally referring specifically to a fish bone. This literal sense broadened to denote any object causing an obstruction in the throat, and then through metaphorical application, it came to describe frank or unwelcome speech that is difficult to express, much like a bone stuck in one's throat, thereby acquiring associations with moral candor and integrity in classical texts.
Etymology Hide
