About
The character 莩 is a phono-semantic compound, with the grass radical 艹 at the top providing the semantic category of plants, and 孚 at the bottom indicating the pronunciation. Its primary meaning refers to the thin inner membrane found in the stems of certain reeds or rushes. In classical texts, the character acquired a distinct, often differently pronounced usage to describe death from starvation, referring to the bodies of the starved. Thus, the same character covers both specific plant anatomy and the abstract condition of fatal deprivation.
Etymology Hide
