警戒

けいかい · keikai · JLPT N1 · noun

vigilance

戒 — 廾 (two hands) + 戈 (dagger-axe)
Originally a pictograph showing two hands holding up a dagger-axe, depicting a guard on alert. The core meaning was 'to be on guard' or 'to be vigilant,' which extended to 'warn,' 'prohibit,' and later 'abstain from' (as in religious precepts).

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