pile, thunder

畾 originally consisted of a pictograph of lightning combined with two wheels, conveying the idea of thunder and lightning striking together; it was later simplified to three wheels to represent the tremendous rumbling sound that follows lightning, i.e., thunder. The ancients believed that the rolling sound of wheels resembled thunder. Moreover, the form of 畾 resembles a small mound or pile built by stacking three wheels, thus 畾 also conveys the idea of piling up or stacking. 畾 is rarely used today, and its meanings have largely been replaced by the characters 雷 and 壘.