逝

Phono-semantic compound:

辵 (“to walk, to go”) — semantic component, indicates movement or travel.

折 (“to break, bend”) — phonetic component, supplies the sound.

Together, the composition originally conveyed the meaning of “to go forth and not return,” hence the sense “to pass away.”

Originally meaning “to go”, the word gained the sense “to go permanently, to die” in literary Chinese, particularly in honorific contexts.

This elevated nuance parallels English “to pass away” or Latin decessit.

The semantic evolution mirrors similar movement-based euphemisms for death in many languages — “to depart,” “to go beyond,” etc.

Classical examples:

時不我與，日月逝矣。

“Time waits for no one — the sun and moon are passing away.” (《論語》 The Analects 9:14)

逝者如斯夫，不舍晝夜。

“The passing of time is like this river — it never ceases day or night.” (《論語》 The Analects 9:16)

Its use remains formal, poetic, and solemn across East Asian languages, often paired with 世 (world) in expressions like 逝世 — “to pass from this world.”