About
陲 is a phono-semantic compound formed by the left-side mound radical 阝 (terrain) and the phonetic element 垂 (to hang down, to approach). The terrain radical situates the character within geographical features, indicating the distant edges or borders of a territory. The semantic link derives from the notion of a landmass's outermost reaches, where the land drops away or ends. It is commonly used in geographical and military contexts to refer to strategic frontier regions and the extreme limits of a state.
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