About
The character 铍 is a phonosemantic compound with a history spanning two meanings. The traditional form 鈹, constructed from the full metal radical 金 (metal) and the phonetic 皮, originally named a long double-edged sword or a large acupuncture needle. Simplified to 铍, which keeps the phonetic 皮 and uses the simplified metal radical 钅, the character was repurposed in modern chemistry as the name for beryllium, an alkaline earth metal. This reuse of an old metal character for a new element is common.
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