TSUMUGU · TOCFL 4 (est.) · 字
援
援 ＝ 扌 ＋ 爰
ㄩㄢˊ · yuán
verb — to pull up; to aid, rescue
字源 FORM — what the parts do
扌義a hand
爰聲yuán — gives the sound, exactlyalready a picture: one hand passing a rod down to another hand
爰 yuán is already the whole picture — a hand above passing a rod down to a hand below. It carries the sound unchanged, and the added hand (扌) re-states the grip. Together they write pull up: 援救 rescue, 支援 support, 援引 — pulling a text in to back you.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
他半個身子在水裡；上面的人把竹竿順下來，手（扌）一抓——拉上來了。
Half his body in the water; from above a bamboo pole slides down, the hand (扌) closes on it — and he is pulled up.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)拉、引— to pull up, lead by the hand
→援救、支援— to rescue, aid常用
→援引— to cite — a text pulled in
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension