About
The character "鞫" incorporates the radical "革" for leather and the component "訇" primarily for phonetic value, a structure that implies an original association with the process of working leather, which was analogously applied to the act of pressing or examining thoroughly. Its etymology points to an early meaning centered on judicial interrogation and legal investigation, a sense that consistently defined its usage in historical texts. Over time, the term occasionally extended to imply exhaustive inquiry but remained specialized within legal and investigative domains without developing broader or unrelated meanings.
Etymology Hide