The word 食物 is formed by combining two independent characters, each contributing its core meaning to create a new, composite concept. The first character, 食, fundamentally represents the act of eating or food itself. The second character, 物, means a thing, an object, or a substance. When placed together, they logically and visually combine to mean "food things" or "edible objects", where 食 describes the category (edible) and 物 specifies the tangible items within that category.