Definitions
noise of bird's wings
Etymology
About
The character "翙" is the simplified form of "翽", both comprising the semantic component "羽" meaning feathers or wings, combined with the phonetic components "岁" and "歲" respectively to indicate pronunciation. Etymologically, it is a phonosemantic compound whose meaning derives from the concept of wing movement and the sound produced, specifically representing the onomatopoeic rustling or flapping noise of birds in flight. This meaning is recorded in early Chinese texts, such as the "Book of Songs" where the phrase "鳳凰于飛，翙翙其羽" employs the character to describe the sound of phoenix wings. Over centuries, the character's usage has remained narrowly focused on this auditory depiction without significant semantic shift, maintaining its role as a descriptive literary term for the sound of flapping wings.