About
菟 features the grass radical 艹 at the top, indicating its connection to plants, while the bottom component 兔 (rabbit) provides the phonetic element. The character primarily denotes the dodder plant, a parasitic vine noted in classical texts and traditional medicine. It also appears in the compound '於菟,' an ancient regional term from the state of Chu meaning "tiger", illustrating how characters can acquire specialized meanings beyond their original semantic components.
Etymology Hide
