The word "琉璃" is formed through transliteration from the Sanskrit "वैडूर्य" (vaidūrya), meaning a precious stone like lapis lazuli or colored glaze. Both characters "琉" and "璃" are phonetic loans chosen to approximate the sound of the foreign term, and each incorporates the radical "王" (jade), which semantically links them to the category of precious stones or ceramics, resulting in a disyllabic compound that conveys meaning through both sound and radical.