About
The character "琥" is structurally composed of the semantic component 玉, denoting jade or precious stone, and the phonetic component 虎, which provides its sound and initially implied a connection to tigers. Etymologically, it first referred to a type of ritual jade object often fashioned into a tiger shape, used in ancient contexts for ceremonial purposes. Over centuries, its meaning broadened from these specific jade artifacts to include the substance amber, a material similarly carved into ornaments, with the character eventually coming to primarily signify amber in contemporary language.
Etymology Hide
