About
The character "熨" is composed of the phonetic and semantic component "尉" positioned above the radical "火" for fire, with the combination explicitly denoting the application of heat for pressing. The element "尉" itself carried an early sense of applying pressure or smoothing, so the addition of "火" specified the use of a heated implement, such as an iron. Its core meaning has consistently centered on the act of ironing fabric with heat, while its usage expanded to encompass metaphorical extensions, such as bringing comfort or making something smooth and settled, evident in terms like "熨贴".