止血
zhǐ xuè · HSK 7
to staunch
🩸🛑 止 stop + 血 blood = stop the bleeding
止 means to stop or halt, 血 means blood. Together they name the act of staunching a wound. A hemostatic drug is one that does this 止血 job chemically.
止 — pictograph of a foot/toe
止 originally depicted a human foot with toes, shown as a footprint on the ground. From this concrete image of a foot it came to mean 'to stop' or 'halt' — the place where a step ends. It also serves as a component in many characters relating to feet, walking, or stopping, such as 步 and 正.
血 — drop 丿 over dish 皿
Originally a pictograph of a sacrificial vessel (皿) with a drop of blood inside, marking the offering of blood in ancient rituals. The small stroke on top represents the blood itself. Over time it broadened from ritual blood to blood in general.