About
鬣 is a phono-semantic compound denoting the long, coarse hair on the neck of animals, such as a horse's mane or a boar's bristles. The top radical 髟 (hair) places it in the category of bodily hair. Beneath it, the component 巤 (liè) provides the pronunciation and historically resembles a hairy animal. In biological contexts, the meaning has extended to describe bristle-like structures, such as the dorsal fins of certain fish.
Etymology Hide
