About
The character 矻 is a phono-semantic compound, with the semantic radical 石 (stone) and the phonetic component 乞. It has historically functioned primarily within the binomial 矻矻 (kūkū), meaning to toil with extreme diligence and exhaustion. The stone radical suggests an etymological root in the arduous labor of breaking or moving rocks, which extended to denote any persistent, strenuous effort or industriousness.