Definitions
to shoot
Etymology
Originally a pictograph of a sharp wooden stick with a pointed bottom, similar to 才. The meaning later expanded to "arrow" and "shoot".
About
The character 弋 is a pictograph that originally depicted a wooden stake driven into the ground, as shown by its structure of a single continuous stroke intersected by another. Over time, its primary meaning shifted to a hunting tool: a tethered arrow used for shooting birds, allowing the hunter to retrieve both arrow and prey. This led to its use as a verb meaning "to shoot with a tethered arrow", and by extension, "to arrest" or "to capture".
Etymology Hide
