The word **硕士 (shuòshì)**, meaning "master's degree" or "a person holding such a degree," is formed through a classic Chinese morphological process where two meaningful characters combine to create a new, specific term. The first character, **硕 (shuò)**, historically means "large," "great," or "eminent," while the second, **士 (shì)**, originally denoted a scholar, knight, or person of professional standing. Thus, the compound literally suggests an "eminent scholar." This formation follows the common modifier-head structure in Chinese, where **硕** describes the quality or rank of the **士**, and over time, the term was semantically narrowed and institutionalized to specifically refer to the postgraduate academic rank, equivalent to a Master's degree in the Western system.