Archaic term for a person captured in war or conflict. In modern Japanese, 捕虜 (ほりょ) is the standard word for prisoner of war, and 虜 is rarely used alone.
See also: 虜 (とりこ)
In old documents, people captured in battle are recorded as 虜.
In ancient Chinese historical records, there are examples of neighboring peoples being called 虜.
prisoner of war; POW; captive
captive; prisoner of war
prisoner of war; captive
northern barbarian tribes (ancient China) · foreigner; barbarian tribe
prisoner of war
slave; captive
The kanji 虜 originally meant 'captive' or 'prisoner of war' in Chinese. In Japanese, it was used as a standalone noun in classical texts but is now almost exclusively found in compounds. The reading りょ is the on'yomi.