毒 (dú)

poison; to poison; poisonous; malicious; cruel; fierce; narcotics

Etymology

Depicts a plant (屮) that is not good (毐), i.e. a poisonous plant.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》:“毒,厚也,害人之艸,往往而生。从屮,从毐。,古文毒,从刀、葍。”

Components