外套
wàitào · HSK 4
outerwear
🧥 外 (outside) + 套 (cover/sheath) = outside-cover = coat
外 means outside/outer; 套 means a cover, case, or sheath that wraps around something. Together: the outer wrap you put over your clothes — a coat or overcoat.
外 — evening 夕 + divination 卜
Originally a compound of 夕 (evening) and 卜 (divination). Ancient Chinese divinations were performed in the morning; doing them at evening (夕) was considered irregular or 'outside' the norm. From this sense of deviation, 外 came to mean 'outside' or 'external'.
套 — big 大 + long 镸 (long hair)
套 combines 大 (big) over 镸 (long), suggesting something large and elongated that wraps or covers. The original sense was a covering or sheath that fits over something else, later extending to 'set,' 'cover,' or 'to slip over.' Modern uses like 一套 (a set) and 手套 (gloves) preserve this idea of an enclosing wrapper.