The word "婉约" is formed from the character "婉", which combines the radical "女" (woman) with the phonetic component "宛" (wǎn) to convey grace and subtlety, and the character "约", which combines the radical "糸" (thread) with the phonetic component "勺" (sháo) to convey constraint and moderation; together, they create a compound where the meanings merge to denote a style of refined and restrained elegance.