The word 感冒 (gǎnmào, meaning "to catch a cold") is formed through a conceptual blend rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. The first character, 感 (gǎn), means "to feel" or "to be affected by", while the second, 冒 (mào), means "to emit" or "to rise", but in a medical context, it historically refers to the invasion of the body by external pathogenic factors like wind or cold. Thus, the term conceptually depicts the body being affected by (感) an invading outbreak (冒) of illness, capturing the sensation of being suddenly overcome by the symptoms of a common cold.