About
Historically, 仵 meant equal, matched, or opposing, but today it is almost exclusively encountered in the term wuzuo (仵作), referring to a traditional coroner or forensic examiner. The character is a phono-semantic compound in which the radical 亻 (person, human activity) signals the semantic field and the component 午 indicates the pronunciation. This move from broad relational meanings to a narrow occupational title exemplifies semantic narrowing. 仵 also serves as an uncommon surname, retaining the same sound and structure as its other uses.
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