廢

The glyph centers on the cessation of function or utility:

• Formal Abrogation: The intentional act of rendering something void, such as abolishing laws, terminating practices, or deposing individuals from rank or office.
• State of Decay: The condition of being ruined or useless; applied to structures (dilapidated/deserted) or persons (incapacitated).
• Material Discard: The act of throwing something away because its utility has been exhausted.

• Transitive Verb: Typically takes an object of authority, such as a law, custom, or official.
• Predicate Adjective: Describes the state of a subject (e.g., "the city is 廢" meaning ruined or deserted).

• vs. 棄 (qì): While both involve casting something off, 棄 emphasizes abandonment or leaving something behind, whereas 廢 emphasizes the loss of function.
• vs. 費 (fèi): 費 refers to expenditure and consumption; 廢 refers to waste or uselessness.

// Tang-period reading: //biæ̀i.

• Simplified variant: U+5E9F.

The primary ambiguity is between action (the act of abolishing) and condition (the state of being ruined). Contextual cues are decisive, specifically whether the glyph follows a subject of authority or appears in a list of attributes.