The word 打发 is formed by combining the character 打 (dǎ), which broadly implies taking action or handling something, often with a sense of exertion or contact, and 发 (fā), which carries the core meaning of sending forth or dispatching. Together, they create a metaphorical compound where the sense of "handling" an action merges with the concept of "sending it away", resulting in the combined meaning of dealing with a matter, task, or person, often to conclude it, pass time, or dismiss it, as if to dispatch it from one's immediate concern.