The word 放大 is formed through the straightforward combination of two existing characters, each contributing its core meaning to create a new concept. The first character, 放, carries the fundamental idea of "to release" or "to set free". The second character, 大, means "big" or "large". Their semantic partnership is direct and pictorial: the action of releasing (放) is conceptually applied to the state of largeness (大), resulting in the combined meaning of "to enlarge" or "to make bigger", as if unleashing or allowing size to expand.