Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 桼 represents the sound. Originally written as 桼, which depicts lacquer or sap oozing out from a varnish tree (木).

Evolution

Bronze script

Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

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