entries → 貓
TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
貓 character · TOCFL 1 (est.)
貓 ＝ 豸 ＋ 苗
ㄇㄠ · māo
noun — cat

字源 FORM — what the parts do

豸義a long-spined beast — the crouching-animal radical
苗聲miáo — gives the sounda sprout 艸 in a field 田 — a seedling
FTmiáo → māo — the vowel flattens, tone shifts
豸 the crouching beast, 苗 the sound: the animal that crouches to pounce — the cat. 苗 miáo carries the sound, worn to māo. The radical 豸 sets it among the prowling animals; 苗 reads it out: 貓咪、貓科.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

一隻獸（豸）伏低，像田裡的苗（苗）一樣不動——下一刻撲出去。
A beast (豸) crouched low, still as a seedling in the field (苗) — then it springs.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)貓— cat常用
→貓咪、貓科— kitty; the cat family
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
苗miáothe phonetic, standing alone — a sprout in a field; it also drives 描 (trace), 瞄 (take aim), 廟 (temple)貍líthe same 豸 radical next door — 貍 sets 里 beside the beast for the wildcat, 貓 sets 苗