About
As a phono-semantic compound, 宥 combines the semantic roof radical 宀, suggesting an enclosed, sheltering space associated with safety and sanctuary, with the phonetic component 有. Its meaning specialized over time to center on forgiveness, pardoning, and clemency, specifically the act of excusing a fault or remitting punishment. The character is used in formal contexts to convey the granting of grace or the intentional withholding of strict penal action for a transgression.
Etymology Hide
