Definitions
to faint; to lose consciousness; his; her; its; their
Etymology phono-semantic
Phonetic:
欮
About
The character 厥, traditionally composed of the radical 厂 suggesting a cliff or shelter and the phonetic-semantic component 欮 which itself combines 屰 indicating reversal and 欠 implying lack, originates from a conceptual representation of instability or a stumble. Its early meanings revolved around this notion of falling or being overturned, which semantically expanded to encompass medical conditions such as fainting or syncope, reflecting a physical collapse. In classical Chinese, the character also developed a grammatical function as a possessive or demonstrative pronoun equivalent to "his" or "her", derived from its earlier emphatic uses, though this application has faded in contemporary language. Over time, while its structural form has persisted unchanged, its primary modern usage is confined to medical terminology like 昏厥 or 厥冷, denoting sudden loss of consciousness or related symptoms, thereby narrowing its historical breadth to a specialized semantic field.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他突然昏厥过去了。
厥后的事情我们不知道。
医生抢救了昏厥的病人。
厥功至伟，不可磨灭。
这种厥症需要及时治疗。
厥土之沃，利于农耕。
论其厥功，当以首奖。
厥志不移，终成大事。