Definitions

liè enclosure, embankment, dike

Etymology phono-semantic

earth

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "埒" is structured with the semantic component "土" denoting earth and the phonetic component "寽", originally referring to a low wall or embankment that marks a boundary. From this concrete sense of a physical divider, its meaning extended to abstract applications where it came to signify equivalence or comparison, as seen in classical compounds where it denotes things being matched or equal in measure.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern