TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
員
ㄩㄢˊ · yuán
noun — member, personnel
字源 FORM — what the parts do
A circle (口) drawn on the cauldron (鼎, worn to 貝) — round; the first writing of 圓. Counting borrowed the graph for the head-count of a body — 人員、委員、店員 — and roundness moved out into 圓.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
鼎抬上來，從正上方看——口沿就是一個正圓（口）。
The cauldron set down, seen from straight above — its rim one perfect circle (口).
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)圓（本字）— round — now written 圓
→人員、成員— member, personnel常用
⇒店員、官員— the staff of every trade
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension