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衄 is a phono-semantic compound combining 血 (blood) and 丑 (shame). The blood radical sets the semantic context of bleeding, while 丑 provides both the sound and the notion of humiliation. Literally, it means a nosebleed, a bloody nose seen as a shameful mishap. From this, it developed a figurative meaning: suffering a defeat, setback, or thwarted momentum, used in medical terminology and historical accounts of lost battles.
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