TSUMUGU · TOCFL 3 (est.) · 字
敵
敵 ＝ 啇 ＋ 攵
ㄉㄧˊ · dí
noun — enemy, foe; verb — to oppose, match
字源 FORM — what the parts do
啇聲chì — gives the sounda stem-and-base sign; 說文 names it 啻, the modern glyph writes 啇
IFchì → dí — both the start and the rhyme shifted over the centuries
攵義a hand with a stick — to strikethe striking hand (攴)
啇 chì carries the sound — 說文 writes it 啻, and over time the reading drifted to dí. A hand with a stick (攵) does the meaning: to strike, to stand against. One who strikes back as your equal is your match, your enemy: 敵人、敵軍. From the matching comes to oppose, to withstand: 敵對、匹敵.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
兩邊勢均，啇（啇）那頭舉起拿棍的手（攵）——對打起來，這就是對手。
Two sides evenly matched; the 啇 side raises the stick-hand (攵) — they strike at each other, and that is the enemy.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)仇敵、敵人— enemy, foe常用
→敵對、抵抗— to oppose, withstand
⇒匹敵、勢均力敵— to match, be equal to
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension