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蜥 is a phono-semantic compound that occurs only in the word 蜥蜴, the standard term for lizard. The left radical 虫, while literally meaning 'insect' or 'worm,' broadly classifies creeping creatures like reptiles and amphibians. The right component 析 is phonetic, giving the pronunciation xī. As a bound morpheme, 蜥 never functions independently, existing solely to name a cold-blooded, creeping animal in traditional Chinese zoological vocabulary.
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