蛇 (shé)

variant of 蛇[she2]

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 虫 represents the meaning and 它 represents the sound. Originally written as 它.

《說文》：“它，虫也。从虫而長，象冤曲垂尾形。上古艸居患它，故相問無它乎。蛇，它或从虫。”