撸 (lū) — to rub one's palm along (something); to roll up (sleeves); (colloquial) to pet or stroke (an animal); (slang) to fire (someone) from a job, to sack

Definition

A colloquial verb for rolling up sleeves or stroking a pet with the palm, and slang for firing someone from a job. Strictly informal and spoken — do not use it in writing or formal contexts.

verb
to rub one's palm along (something)to roll up (sleeves)(colloquial) to pet or stroke (an animal)(slang) to fire (someone) from a jobto sack

Examples

  • 撸。
    Tā lū qǐ xiù zi kāi shǐ gàn huó.
    He rolled up his sleeves and started working.
  • 撸。
    Zhōu mò wǒ xǐ huan zài jiā lū māo.
    I like to pet cats at home on weekends.
  • 撸。
    Tīng shuō tā zuì jìn bèi lǎo bǎn lū le.
    I heard he was recently fired by his boss.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 擼; 撸 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
魯
魯lǔ擼lū
Same sound today

The traditional form 擼 uses 扌 to show the meaning relates to the hand, while 魯 gives the sound; the simplified 撸 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical part.

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