卤素 (lǔ sù) — halogen (chemistry) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

halogen (chemistry)

Measure word · 种

卤素。
Lǜ shì yì zhǒng lǔ sù yuán sù.
Chlorine is a halogen element.
卤素。
lǔ sù Dēng bǐ pǔ tōng dēng pào gèng liàng.
Halogen lamps are brighter than ordinary bulbs.
卤素。
Zhè xiē lǔ sù huà hé wù zài gōng yè zhōng hěn cháng yòng.
These halogen compounds are very commonly used in industry.

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.

卤lǔhalogen/brine

素sùelement

“卤” (halogen/brine) specifies the “素” (element), meaning halogen.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滷; 卤 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 卤 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 滷; in others it is 鹵.

氵鹵滷

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

鹵

鹵lǔ滷lǔ

Same sound today

The traditional form 滷 uses 氵 (water) with 鹵 for the sound; the simplified 卤 is a shorthand.

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

The shape of 素 came from a picture of hands braiding thread.