The word "袜子" (wàzi), meaning "sock", is formed through a process of compounding and suffixation where the core character "袜", which historically and independently means "sock" or "stocking", is combined with the neutral-toned suffix "子". This suffix "子" does not add its literal meaning of "child" but instead functions to create a disyllabic word, a common pattern in modern Mandarin that often conveys a sense of familiarity or concreteness. The two characters fuse into a single, inseparable unit representing the everyday clothing item, with the addition of "子" making the term more phonetically balanced and colloquial in speech.