蓖麻油 (bì má yóu) — castor oil | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

castor oil

蓖麻油。
Zhè zhǒng bì má yóu kě yǐ yòng yú zhì liáo biàn mì.
This kind of castor oil can be used to treat constipation.
蓖麻油。
Tā zài yào diàn lǐ mǎi le yì píng bì má yóu.
He bought a bottle of castor oil at the pharmacy.
蓖麻油。
bì má yóu Shì cóng bì má zǐ zhōng tí qǔ chū lái de zhí wù yóu.
Castor oil is a vegetable oil extracted from castor seeds.

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.

蓖麻castor plant

蓖bìcastor麻máplant

偏正Modifier + head

蓖麻 names the castor plant, and 油 means oil; together they mean castor oil.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

麻 combines 厂 and 𣏟 to represent hemp leaves.

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

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.