均

Formed as a phono-semantic compound:

土 (earth, soil) provides the semantic element, suggesting leveling or smoothing the ground.

勻 (even, balanced) provides the phonetic component.

Original sense: to make level or balanced, extended to mean equalize, distribute, or comply.

Semantic range:

- to level, make smooth (땅을 고르다);

- to balance or equalize (균등하다, 평등하다);

- to distribute evenly (분배하다, 골고루 나누다);

- by extension, to follow or comply (따르다).

평균 (平均) — average

균형 (均衡) — balance, equilibrium

균등 (均等) — equality, uniformity

균제 (均齊) — to make uniform, regulate

군무연 (均無焉) — nothing follows, nothing remains (classical usage with ‘연’ reading)