剔

pick out

剔 is composed of 易 (change, easy) and the radical of 刀 (knife). 易 visually depicts a tilted wine vessel pouring out drops of water, carrying the extended meaning of removing or clearing out. 剔 conveys using a knife to cut away undesirable parts, thus representing to pick out, scrape off, or reject.

Vocabulary of 剔

  • 剔除 (discard)
  • 挑剔 picky)

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