About
臬 is a phonosemantic compound with 木 'wood' as the semantic component and 𰄩 (a remnant of 㓷, now written 自) as the phonetic. It originally denoted a wooden archery target or a post for casting shadows to measure time. From its function as a fixed point to aim at, it metaphorically developed the senses 'standard' or 'rule.' In historical bureaucratic contexts it came to refer to provincial judges, especially in the title 臬司.
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