Definitions
to trample; to step; to walk on the ball of the foot
Etymology
About
The character 跐, pronounced cī in its common modern usage, is structured with the foot radical (足) on the left, indicating an action related to the feet, and the component 此 on the right, which primarily serves a phonetic function. Its traditional counterpart is 蹴, which shares the same foot radical but uses 就 for its phonetic element, representing a different historical phonetic series. The core semantic field of 跐 has consistently involved contact between the foot and a surface, with its earliest meanings centered on stepping or trampling upon something. Over time, its dominant meaning shifted to describe the specific action of the foot slipping or sliding, as in losing traction. The traditional character 蹴 carries meanings such as to kick, tread heavily, or crush, which are more forceful than the slipping action associated with 跐, demonstrating a divergence in specific application despite their shared conceptual domain.