entries → 艘
TSUMUGU · TOCFL B2 (est.) · 字
character · TOCFL B2 (est.)
艘 =
ㄙㄡ · sōu
measure word — for boats and ships (一艘船)

字源 FORM — what the parts do

a boat
sǒu — the phonetic, worn forward to sōu
Tsǒu → sōu — same sound, the tone flattened to first
A boat (舟) with 叟 sǒu for the sound — the word you count hulls with: 一艘、兩艘. The donor 叟 reads sǒu; in 艘 it flattened to sōu. 叟 also gives 搜、餿.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

江上一條船()一條船地過——一艘,兩艘。
Boats (舟) cross the river one hull at a time — one 艘, two 艘.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)一艘船— a measure word for vessels常用
艦艘— ships, vessels (collectively)
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension