Definitions
old variant of 鵪|鹌[ān]
Etymology
About
The character "鶕" is structured as a phono-semantic compound with "音" serving as a phonetic component and "鳥" as the semantic radical, indicating a bird associated with sound, likely due to its distinctive call. It was historically used in the compound "鶕鶉" to denote the quail, with its components reflecting this original link between the bird and auditory characteristics. Over time, the variant form "鵪", which substitutes the phonetic element with "奄", gained broader currency, leading to a gradual reduction in the use of "鶕" while its meaning remained specifically tied to the quail. The simplified form "鹌" later developed from "鵪", not directly from "鶕", though both retain the bird radical.