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The character "鳐", meaning a ray or skate fish, is formed with the semantic component "鱼" indicating its category as a fish and the phonetic component "谣" which suggests its pronunciation yáo. In its traditional counterpart "鰩", the elements are "魚" and "謠", where "謠" similarly serves a phonetic role. The character's etymology relies on this phono-semantic structure, and its meaning has remained specifically tied to describing these marine animals without notable semantic drift over time.
Etymology Hide
