折衷
せっちゅう · secchuu · JLPT N1 · noun
compromise
⚖️ 折 bend + 衷 center = bend toward the middle, meet halfway
折 means bend or fold, and 衷 means the inner part or center. Bending toward the center is how two sides meet halfway, so the word covers both compromise and blending styles.
折 — hand 扌 + axe 斤
Originally written as 折 with a hand (扌) breaking or chopping something with an axe (斤), depicting the act of snapping or cutting in two. The core meaning 'to break, snap, fold' extends metaphorically to 'bend,' 'turn back,' and 'discount' (as in reducing a price by breaking off part).