The word 圣人 is formed through the conceptual fusion of two ideas: 圣 (shèng), which signifies supreme wisdom, moral perfection, and a connection to the divine or the highest ethical order, and 人 (rén), meaning "person" or "human being". The compound does not merely describe a wise person, but creates a new, elevated category, the "Sage", by applying the transcendent qualities of 圣 to define a perfect archetype of humanity. Thus, it is formed by combining an abstract ideal of ultimate virtue with the concrete notion of a person, resulting in a term that represents the pinnacle of human ethical and spiritual attainment.