About
The character 妪, with its traditional form 嫗, structurally integrates the semantic component 女, meaning "woman", with the phonetic component 區 (simplified to 区), which historically indicated pronunciation. Etymologically, the character originated to denote an aged female, and in early textual contexts, it was applied broadly to older women or mothers. Over time, its meaning condensed to refer specifically to an elderly woman, maintaining the fundamental association with female gender and advanced age as embodied by the 女 radical.
Etymology Hide
