TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
操
操 ＝ 扌 ＋ 喿
ㄘㄠ · cāo
verb — to grasp, hold; to operate, drill; noun — moral conduct
字源 FORM — what the parts do
扌義a handthe gripping hand
喿聲zào — gives the soundthree mouths (品) in a tree (木) — birds clamouring
Izào → cāo — the initial moved within the sibilants
A hand (扌) and 喿 zào for the sound — three mouths chirping in a tree. The hand takes firm hold and works the thing (把持也): 操作、操控. From holding steady comes drilling the body — 體操 — and holding to one's principles, 操守.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
手（扌）緊緊握住把柄，反覆地推、拉——操起來。
The hand (扌) closes hard on the handle and works it, push and pull — drilling it.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)把持、握— to grasp, hold firmly
→操作、操控— to operate, work (a thing)常用
⇒操練、體操— to drill, exercise常用
⇒操守、節操— moral conduct, what one holds to
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension