曳

Core sense of dragging, towing, or trailing. The term typically implies weight, friction, or a length that exceeds its support, resulting in a nuance of slowness or "lag."

Lexical range includes:

• Physical hauling: Towing or dragging heavy objects with effort.
• Textiles and dress: The trailing of long garments or robes that sweep the floor; in ritual or courtly contexts, this often denotes status and formality.
• Temporal/Abstract extension: Lingering, delaying, hesitation, or "dragging one's feet" in speech or decision-making.

• vs 引 (yǐn): While 引 involves leading, drawing toward oneself, or extending a line (such as a bowstring), it lacks the inherent friction and "groundedness" of 曳.
• vs 牽 (qiān): Specifically implies leading an animal or object by a rope, halter, or leash.
• vs 拉 (lā): A general term for pulling more characteristic of later colloquial Chinese; it does not carry the specific nuance of trailing or lingering found in 曳.

// Tang-period reading: //iɛ̀i.

• Semantic variant: U+62FD.

When appearing in contexts regarding dress and textiles, note that the glyph often describes the state of the fabric (the trailing effect) rather than an active pulling motion.