Origin

This character combines the radical 女 meaning "woman" with the sound component 啇 on the right, which hints at how to pronounce the character. The radical 女 narrows the meaning to something related to women or wives, while the right side guides pronunciation. Together they create a character for a legitimate wife—specifically the primary, officially recognized wife as opposed to concubines or secondary wives. The emphasis on legitimacy and direct lineage later extended the meaning to include "direct descent" more broadly.