official, colleague

僚 is composed of the radical 人 (person) and 尞 (burn). 尞 depicts a tree that is burning, conveys brightness, and extends to the meaning of a fine or beautiful appearance. Therefore, the original meaning of 僚 is a person of fine appearance. In ancient times the officials who worked for the emperor or the feudal lords were carefully selected and thus of upright appearance; likewise, when choosing people to work with were also judged by looks. From this, 僚 came to mean an official or a colleague.