橫

Phono-semantic compound:

木 (tree, wood) – semantic element, indicating wood or objects made of wood.

黃 (yellow, “hwang”) – phonetic element.

The character originally referred to placing something crosswise (as with wooden beams or logs). From this, it extended to the abstract sense of “horizontal, across.” Later, it also came to mean “reckless, arbitrary” in conduct.

Semantic range:

- horizontal, transverse orientation;

- to lie across, to span;

- figurative: unrestrained, violent, arbitrary.

횡단 (橫斷) – crossing

횡행 (橫行) – to run rampant, to act recklessly

횡재 (橫財) – unexpected windfall, sudden gain

In antiquity, often used interchangeably with 衡 (“beam, balance bar”), due to phonetic similarity.