The word 消息 is formed through a vivid, conceptual observation of natural cycles. It combines 消 (xiāo), meaning "to vanish" or "dissipate" (like fading light or melting snow), with 息 (xī), meaning "to grow" or "rest" (like a breathing pause or new sprouts). Together, they poetically capture the fundamental rhythm of existence, the perpetual process of something fading away and something else arising or resting in its place. This inherent cycle of disappearance and renewal was metaphorically applied to the flow of news and information, where one event or report ends and is replaced by the next, embodying the very essence of "tidings" that come and go.