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鳆, the simplified form of the traditional character 鰒, is a phono-semantic compound: the radical 鱼 (yú) indicates an aquatic creature, while the phonetic 复 (fù, meaning 'return' or 'duplicate') gives the sound. Throughout its recorded use, this character has exclusively named the abalone, a marine gastropod mollusk highly prized in traditional cuisine. Its semantic development has been completely stable, functioning solely as a biological and culinary noun for that specific edible sea snail, never broadening into metaphor or referring to other marine life.
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