TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
緊
緊 ＝ 臤 ＋ 糸
ㄐㄧㄣˇ · jǐn
adj — tight, taut; tense, urgent
字源 FORM — what the parts do
臤聲qiān — gives the sound, and means a firm graspa hand 又 gripping an eye/servant 臣; the same 臤 sits in 堅、賢
ITqiān → jǐn — the reading tightened along with the meaning
糸義silk threadworn down from 絲 (two skeins) to one
A hand grips hard (臤) and winds the thread (糸) until it pulls taut — 緊. 臤 does double duty: it grasps and it sounds, the same firm-grip element under 堅、賢. The two skeins 絲 wore down to one 糸 at the foot. From taut thread, everything tight or pressing: 緊張、要緊、抓緊.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
手攥住線頭（臤）一拉，絲（糸）繃得發直——緊。
A fist clamps the thread-end (臤) and hauls; the silk (糸) snaps straight and taut.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)纏緊、繃緊— wound tight, taut
→緊張— tense, nervous常用
→要緊、緊急— pressing, urgent常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension