败血病 (bài xuè bìng) — septicemia

Definition

Medical term for 'septicemia' — a serious bloodstream infection, typically used in clinical or formal contexts rather than everyday speech.

noun
septicemia

Examples

  • 败血病。
    Yī shēng zhěn duàn tā dé le bài xuè bìng.
    The doctor diagnosed him with septicemia.
  • 败血病。
    bài xuè bìng Shì yì zhǒng yán zhòng de xuè yè gǎn rǎn.
    Septicemia is a severe blood infection.
  • 败血病。
    Jí shí zhì liáo bài xuè bìng fēi cháng zhòng yào.
    Timely treatment of septicemia is very important.

Origin

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.

败血blood poisoning
败bàicorrupt血xuèblood
偏正Modifier + head
病bìngdisease

败血 refers to corrupted blood, or blood poisoning, and 病 names the illness caused by it.

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →

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

  • 一一yīdrop of blood
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The shape shows 一, a drop of blood, inside 皿, a container, for blood held in a sacrificial vessel.

Open 血 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèsickness
Sound part声符shēngfú
丙
丙bǐng病bìng
Same sound today

病 pairs 疒, a sickness mark, with 丙, which gives the sound; 丙 also means fire, giving a picture of lying feverishly in bed.

Open 病 →

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