About
The character 杈 is a phono-semantic compound, with the semantic radical 木 ("wood") on the left indicating its material, and the phonetic component 叉 ("fork") on the right providing the pronunciation "chā" and reinforcing the concept of a fork. It originally describes a fork in a tree, where a branch splits, and extends to wooden tools with a forked end, like an agricultural pitchfork.
Etymology Hide
