About
The character 砺, with its traditional form 礪, combines the radical 石 meaning "stone" with the component 厲, simplified to 厉, which historically carried associations of abrasive or rigorous action, thus originally referring to a whetstone used for sharpening blades or tools. Its meaning evolved from denoting the physical grindstone to encompassing the act of grinding or polishing itself, and later acquired a metaphorical sense describing the refinement or hardening of skills or character through persistent effort. Structurally, both forms retain the stone radical alongside their respective right-hand components, reflecting the character's enduring connection to the concept of abrasion and its semantic shift from a concrete object to an abstract process.
Etymology Hide
