敷

Physical application: Spreading or layering a substance (such as pigment, paint, or medicine) or unfolding fabric.

Intellectual elaboration: Expounding on a dense idea or argument; explaining in detail to make the implicit explicit.

Practical implementation: The execution of a plan, policy, or rule in reality.

Compared to related terms for "spreading":

敷 (fū) emphasizes coverage, layering, and thoroughness (filling out a point).

展 (zhǎn) emphasizes revelation and display (unfolding to show what was hidden).

布 (bù) emphasizes distribution (spreading across a wide area or among many people).

Closely related to 尃. Variant forms, such as U+5C03 and U+65C9, are paleographic shifts in component balance and carry no distinct lexical meaning; they are interchangeable with 敷. Tang-period reading: pio.

In medical or craft-related texts, the glyph almost certainly refers to the physical application of a layer (e.g., a salve or plaster).