踖

踖 means stepping or walking; compounds add the social nuance. The Shijing, an early Chinese poetry collection, has 執爨踖踖, a line about tending the cooking fire. The Analects, a collection of sayings associated with Confucius, uses 踧踖如也 for deferential unease; the Book of Rites, a guide to ritual conduct, says 毋踖席—do not step across a mat. These passages connect movement with the respectful or uneasy bearing expected in formal situations.

The Shuowen Jiezi, an old Chinese character dictionary, records 踖 in small-seal script, a historical writing style. Elsewhere, 踖踖 can describe nimble, respectful movement or shame. Dictionaries also give a separate Mandarin reading, què, for a horse running fast. Read the whole phrase: no single everyday gloss covers every use.