About
The character 浼 is a phono-semantic compound: the water radical 氵 indicates its connection to liquids, while 免 provides the pronunciation. Its original meaning was to defile or contaminate water, derived directly from the radical. Over time, the sense expanded from this physical context to an abstract social action, coming to mean to ask a favor or make an earnest request of someone. The character is composed of these two standard components without a distinct traditional form, and its history illustrates a clear semantic shift from describing water quality to depicting interpersonal conduct.
Etymology Hide
