About
The character "掖" is structured with the hand radical (扌) combined with the component "夜", which historically served as a phonetic element, and its earliest attested meanings center on the manual action of tucking or concealing an item under the arm or into a sleeve. From this concrete sense, the term acquired a metaphorical extension to describe the act of supporting or bolstering someone, evident in formations like "掖助". While the character once independently conveyed the concept of the armpit, that specific meaning has largely been assumed by the dedicated character "腋" in later usage. The character also appears in historical toponyms such as "掖县", indicating its application beyond verbal actions into geographic nomenclature.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
她小心地掖了掖被角。
他把文件掖在书本下面。
我掖好衬衫准备出门。
孩子掖着玩具不肯放手。
他藏掖着一些秘密。
为了保暖，他把裤脚掖进袜子里。
掖县是山东的一个地方。
在历史中，掖庭是皇宫的一部分。