TSUMUGU · B1 (est.) · 字
刮
刮 ＝ 刀 ＋ 𠯑
ㄍㄨㄚ · guā
verb — to scrape, pare off; (of wind) to blow
字源 FORM — what the parts do
𠯑聲gives the sound — worn into 舌 in the modern glyph
A knife (刀) drags across a surface and lifts off what clings — 刮鬍子、搜刮. The right side looks like 舌 (a tongue) today, but it is a worn-down phonetic 𠯑, not the tongue at all; it carries the sound.
意 · Meanings
(本義)刮、掊把— to scrape, pare off常用
→搜刮、刮地皮— to scrape together, extort
⇒刮風、颳風— (of wind) to blow hard
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension