About
The character 鞔 is composed of the radical 革 (leather) and the phonetic component 免, which may also carry a semantic sense of "to cover". Its core etymology relates to the act of stretching leather taut over a frame or last. This gave rise to its primary historical meanings of tightening leather to make the face of a drum or, more commonly, to construct or repair the upper part of a shoe. From this concrete sense, the character developed a more general verb meaning "to mend shoes". A distinct but related meaning uses 鞔 to refer to the sole of a shoe or boot.
Etymology Hide
