Origin

This character combines water (the three-dot radical on the left) with a component suggesting a seal or boundary on the right. The image is of water spreading beyond its usual limits or boundaries—when water floods, it spreads out wide and covers a large area. The two parts together convey the idea of something flowing outward and expanding across a wide space, which is why the character means "spread out" or "wide." Over time, this visual idea of water's expansive movement became the general meaning of spreading or becoming widespread.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).