TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
故
故 ＝ 攵 ＋ 古
ㄍㄨˋ · gù
noun — cause, reason; adv — therefore; deliberately; old, former
字源 FORM — what the parts do
攵義a hand with a stick — to act on, to makethe doing hand (攴)
Tgǔ → gù — the reading held, the tone rose
A hand with a stick (攵) makes something happen; 古 gǔ carries the sound. The old sense is to cause, to make a thing be so (使為之也). What makes a thing so is its reason: 緣故、事故. And the cause put before the result gives therefore: 故此、所以. 古 also leans in for old — old ties, old friends: 故鄉、故人.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
拿棍的手（攵）推著古（古）老的事——是它使後來如此，這就是緣故。
The stick-hand (攵) pushes on the old thing (古) — it is what made the rest follow, the reason behind it.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)使、令— to cause, to make (it so)
→緣故、事故— cause, reason; an incident常用
⇒故此、所以— therefore常用
⇒故鄉、故人— old, former — old home, old friend常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension