Origin

This character pictures a knife or sword blade with a small dot marking the sharp edge. The component 刀 shows the basic shape of a blade, and the dot (丶) emphasizes the critical detail that makes a blade useful — its cutting edge. By highlighting where sharpness matters most, the character captures the essential idea of what a blade is: not just any piece of metal, but specifically the part that cuts. Over time, the shape simplified into these few strokes, but the meaning of "blade" or "edge" stayed attached.