The Chinese word **落伍 (luòwǔ)**, meaning "outdated" or "behind the times," is a metaphorical compound formed by combining two characters: **落 (luò)**, which means "to fall behind" or "to drop," and **伍 (wǔ)**, which originally meant "a squad of five soldiers" and by extension, "ranks" or "a group." Literally, it paints the image of "falling out of the ranks" of a marching military unit. Over time, this vivid metaphor was extended beyond the military context to describe anyone or anything that fails to keep up with the advancing group or prevailing trends, thus becoming obsolete or old-fashioned.