Origin

This character combines a meaning component with a sound hint. The left side is a radical related to movement or going, which fits the sense of "relay" or "sending" — the idea of something being passed along or moving from one place to another. The right component (乕) serves as a sound hint, giving you a clue to the pronunciation テイ rather than adding to the meaning. Together, the character pictures the concept of passing something along in sequence, which led to meanings like "relay" and "in turn."

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).