CJK Ideograph 雛

It means a young bird, then something small or unfinished.

The written trail begins in early classical Chinese citations: the Book of Rites and Mencius use 雛 for a chick. The Han-era Shuowen Jiezi defines “chicken’s young,” analyzes 隹, bird, plus 芻, sound, and records 鶵 with 鳥. The sources checked establish no single inventor or secure oracle-bone date.

Japanese widened the word: in the Heian period, ひな named small dressed dolls; in the Edo period, those dolls became the Hina-festival display, growing from purification and play traditions. In 雛形 / 雏形, “small young form” becomes a model, template, or prototype.