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The character "鼬" integrates the semantic component "鼠", indicating rodent-like animals, with the phonetic component "由" to guide its pronunciation. Historically used to represent weasels and related mammals, this designation appears in early lexicons such as the Shuowen Jiezi. Its formation follows the phono-semantic model, anchoring the meaning to small carnivorous creatures through "鼠" while depending on "由" for sound, and over time its application has remained focused on weasel species, evident in compounds like "黄鼬" for the yellow weasel, without broadening into other semantic domains.
Etymology Hide
