TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
鉛
鉛 ＝ 釒 ＋ 㕣
ㄑㄧㄢ · qiān
noun — lead (the metal)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
釒義the metal radical — a metal
㕣聲yǎn — gives the sounda mouth over a marsh-hollow
IF≠yǎn → qiān — the reading drifted hard off the donor
The metal radical (釒) with 㕣 yǎn for the sound — the right element is 㕣, not the 公 it has worn toward. The base sense is the blue-grey metal: lead. Soft and heavy, once the writing-core of a 鉛筆, a pencil.
意 · Meanings
(本義)鉛— lead (the metal)常用
→鉛筆— a pencil常用
→鉛球— the shot (in shot put)
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension