The word 风格 (fēnggé) is formed through the conceptual combination of two independent characters: 风 (fēng), meaning "wind", which extends metaphorically to imply "tendency", "influence", or "prevailing custom", and 格 (gé), meaning "pattern", "standard", or "framework". Together, they create a new, unified concept where the intangible, pervasive quality of "wind" merges with the defining structure of a "pattern" to express the distinctive and recognizable character, the pervasive, defining pattern, that permeates a person's work, artistic expression, or a historical period.