The word 地板 is formed through a straightforward conceptual combination where the first character 地 (dì), meaning "earth" or "ground", establishes the foundational location. The second character 板 (bǎn), meaning "board" or "plank", specifies the physical material and form that covers that location. Together, they fuse visually and logically to create the single concrete concept of a "floor", originally picturing wooden planks laid upon the earth, which then broadened to mean any manufactured floor surface.