TSUMUGU · TOCFL 5 (est.) · 字
縣
縣 ＝ 県 ＋ 系
ㄒㄧㄢˋ · xiàn
noun — a county (administrative district); (old) to hang, suspend
字源 FORM — what the parts do
県義an upside-down head (倒首) — a severed head held up
A cord (系) holds an inverted head (県) up off the ground — 說文 reads it 繫, to hang. That grim picture was borrowed for the administrative county, a district hung from the central court. The original 'hang' then grew a heart (心) and split off as 懸 (xuán), leaving 縣 to the map.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一根繩（系）把那顆倒掛的頭（県）吊在城門上——縣。
A cord (系) hangs the inverted head (県) at the city gate — 縣.
字源
意 · Meanings
(本義)懸掛（後作懸）— to hang, suspend (later written 懸)
(假借)縣、自治縣— a county常用
→縣級、縣長— county-level; county magistrate
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension