The word **唐突** is formed through a classical Chinese lexical process where two semantically related characters are combined to create a new, abstract meaning. The character **唐** originally conveyed notions of exaggeration or emptiness (deriving from a sense of "boastful" or "unfounded"), while **突** means "to dash forward," "sudden," or "protruding." When compounded, their individual meanings fuse metaphorically: the "unfounded" or "reckless" quality of **唐** merges with the "abrupt, rushing" action of **突** to form the modern meaning of the word—describing an action that is **rude, abrupt, or tactlessly offensive**, essentially a sudden violation of propriety or expectation. Thus, the compound transcends a literal sum of its parts to express a specific social behavior.