鎮

Verb: To press down, weigh down, or stabilize an object using mass; to garrison or station troops to ensure pacification and order; to calm, quiet, or suppress (including psychological, medical, or metaphysical contexts).

Noun: A physical weight; a strategic military outpost or garrison town; a market town.

Predominantly used as a transitive verb.

[DISTINITIONS]

Contrast with 定: 鎮 suggests stability through authority and presence (the weight of the garrison), whereas 定 suggests a settled state, a fixed decree, or a final result.

Contrast with 守: While both involve guarding a position, 鎮 carries a stronger connotation of active suppression or "pinning down" a volatile area.

Fanqie reading: 陟刃; Tang-period reading: djìn. Variants include U+9547 (Simplified) and U+93AD (Z-variant).

The 金 (metal) radical indicates that the pressure exerted is materialized, whether via weaponry, currency, or heavy bronze/stone weights.

In ancient contexts, the "market town" sense usually derives from commercial growth surrounding a military garrison.