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The character 钤, the simplified version of the traditional 鈐, is a phono-semantic compound: its left-side radical 钅 (derived from 金) indicates metal, while the right-side component 今 serves as the phonetic. Historically, it meant a door latch or lock, highlighting its metallic nature, but over time the primary meaning shifted to a seal or stamp used in official or formal contexts, as well as the act of stamping documents.
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