About
The character 蓑 is a phono-semantic compound, with the grass radical 艹 at the top indicating a plant-based material, and the component 衰 below providing the pronunciation "suō". It originally referred to a traditional East Asian raincoat woven from grass, straw, or palm leaves, worn by farmers and fishermen working outdoors in bad weather. As this type of rainwear has fallen out of use, the character now appears mainly in classical poetry, historical texts, or the compound "蓑衣" (suōyī), which describes this rustic garment.
Etymology Hide
