程

It is a phono-semantic compound, composed of:

禾 (grain, rice plant) – semantic element, originally linked with measuring harvest or growth;

呈 (jeong, to present, to submit) – phonetic element, supplying the sound.

程 originated from the idea of measuring (禾, grain) with a standard (呈, present), and came to mean degree, limit, and process. It developed further into meanings of journey, schedule, program, and approximation.

Semantic range:

- limit, measure – as in 한도 (限度), 정도 (程度, degree/extent).

- route, journey, distance – as in “a stage or segment of a journey.”

- process, step – in modern usage, “program, procedure.”

- approximation (~쯤) – indicating about, roughly.

Today it is a key morpheme in East Asian words for extent, process, and stages of travel or work.

정도 (程度) – degree, extent

과정 (課程) – course, process, curriculum

여정 (旅程) – journey, itinerary

공정 (工程) – process, stage of construction

단정 (段程) – stage, section of a journey