⺶

⺶ is one of two encoded sheep-top variants (its sibling is ⺷). Sheep carried strongly positive connotations in classical Chinese, so its top form marks not only sheep/goat words but also a cluster of beauty, righteousness, and good-fortune meanings. Visually, ⺶ tends to drop the central vertical that ⺷ keeps. Never written alone.

⺶ is a calligraphic flattening of 羊, originally a pictograph of a horned sheep's head viewed from the front. When 羊 had to sit above another component, the lower body dropped away and only the curving horns and forehead survived as a header. Encoded for completeness alongside its sibling ⺷.

Sheep/auspicious cue at the top: 美 (beautiful - sheep over big), 羞 (shame), 羔 (lamb), 羡 (envy/admire).