Origin

The character 蔑 combines the "plant" radical (the grass strokes on top) with components suggesting a small or diminished figure below. The visual idea appears to be something trampled or pressed down — like vegetation crushed underfoot. This physical image of something reduced or flattened carries over to the meaning of treating someone or something as worthless, ignoring it, or looking down on it with contempt. The formation likely plays on the contrast between something full-sized and something made small or low, which naturally suggests disrespect and neglect.