Chinese character 逾

Its core idea is movement past a boundary. A bronze travel permit from the ancient Chinese state of Chu, dated 323 BCE, uses 逾 in route directions across waterways. Shuowen Jiezi, an early Chinese character dictionary, glosses it as “advance”: 辵 suggests movement, while 俞 supplies sound.

Chinese 逾期 marks a passed deadline; 逾越, a crossed rule or limit. Older literary Chinese also uses 逾 for “increasingly”; Japanese has 逾える, “to cross or surpass.”