The Chinese word 芥末 (jièmò) for "mustard" is a semantic compound formed by combining the character 芥, which historically refers to mustard plants or seeds (like in 芥菜, "mustard greens"), with the character 末, meaning "powder" or "finely ground substance". Together, they literally describe the "powdered form of mustard", accurately reflecting the condiment's processed state as a spicy paste or powder derived from the mustard plant's seeds. This type of word formation is common in Chinese for specifying a particular form or product of a base material.