桡 (ráo): radius (forearm bone)

Meanings

桡骨是前臂的两根骨头之一。

Ráogǔ shì qiánbì de liǎng gēn gǔtou zhīyī.

The radius is one of the two bones of the forearm.

他抓起船桡，把船划向岸边。

Tā zhuā qǐ chuánráo, bǎ chuán huá xiàng ànbiān.

He grabbed an oar and rowed the boat toward the shore.

usage

Today 桡 is most common in the anatomy term 桡骨 (radius bone). It also has an older sense of an oar and a literary sense of bending.

radical

木 mù

wood; tree

The wood radical 木 points to the original sense, a curved piece of wood and hence an oar. The bone meaning is a later borrowing.

phonetic

尧 yáo

lofty; the sage-king Yao

Supplies the sound, drifted from yáo to the modern reading ráo. The same phonetic drives 饶 and 绕.

桡 ráo