乳香 (rǔ xiāng) — frankincense | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

frankincense

乳香。
rǔ xiāng Shì yì zhǒng hěn gǔ lǎo de xiāng liào.
Frankincense is a very ancient spice.
乳香。
Jì sì shí tā men diǎn rán le rǔ xiāng.
They lit frankincense during the ceremony.
乳香。
Zhōng yào lǐ rǔ xiāng cháng yòng yú huó xuè zhǐ tòng.
In Chinese medicine, frankincense is often used to promote blood circulation and relieve pain.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

乳rǔmilk/resin

乳 suggests the milky resin and 香 names incense, together meaning frankincense.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

乳 originally drew a kneeling woman holding and breastfeeding a child, matching its meanings of breast and milk.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.