About
The character "掠", in its traditional form, has consistently combined the hand radical (扌) on the left with the phonetic component "京" on the right, a structure which semantically suggests a hand action associated with the meaning conveyed by "京", originally a raised terrain or elevated place. This composition points to an early core meaning of seizing or plundering by force, as if sweeping something away from a high position, a concept evident in classical texts where it described the act of robbing or pillaging during military conquest. Over time, its application broadened beyond outright theft to encompass related notions of swift, forceful physical contact, giving rise to meanings such as to sweep across, graze past, or brush against something lightly but quickly. This semantic extension also allowed for more abstract uses, such as the fleeting passage of time or a glance that skims over a surface, thereby retaining the original sense of rapid, contacting motion while losing the exclusive connotation of criminal appropriation.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
敌人掠夺村庄。
风暴掠过了城市。
鹰从空中掠过地面。
他掠取了别人的成果。
小偷试图掠夺商店的货物。
她的笑容掠过我的脑海。
侵略者掠夺资源，破坏环境。
历史记载了那些掠夺成性的帝国的衰亡。