TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
夏
ㄒㄧㄚˋ · xià
noun — summer; the Xia, the Chinese (華夏)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
夊義a foot dragging — the legs below
臼義two hands — the arms, worn into the middle strokes
The old graph is a whole standing figure: a head up top (頁), two hands gripping (臼) in the middle, two feet (夊) below — a person drawn out full-bodied. It first named the Chinese themselves, 中國之人 — the grand people, 華夏. The summer sense (夏天、夏日) is the everyday loan that took over. In the modern square the hands have flattened into the middle strokes; only the head and the trailing foot still read.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一個人，頭（頁）、手（臼）、腳（夊）都齊——堂堂一個全身，那是夏。
A figure with head (頁), hands (臼) and feet (夊) all there — a whole body standing tall, that is 夏.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)華夏、夏朝— the Chinese; the Xia常用
→夏天、夏季— summer常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension