TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
曾
ㄘㄥˊ · céng/zēng
adv — once, formerly (céng); (zēng) great- (in kinship)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
曰義the base it sits on
A steaming pot drawn whole: vents off the top (八), the slatted body (田), the base (曰) — the old word for a tiered steamer, the one 甑 later spelled out. Borrowed away for time gone by, 曾經; read zēng it stacks a generation further back, 曾祖.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
蒸籠（曰上的田）一層層疊著，熱氣（八）從頂上一縷縷冒出來。
The steamer (田 on its base 曰) stacked tier on tier, the steam (八) curling off the top.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
céng
(本義)曾經、未曾— once, formerly常用
→曾— indeed, after all (archaic)
zēng
(引申)曾祖、曾孫— great-grandparent / -grandchild常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension