TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
美
ㄇㄟˇ · měi
adj — beautiful, fine
字源 FORM — what the parts do
A ram (羊) over a person (大). The old graph carries two tellings: the big sheep, fat and fine — 羊大則美 — or a dancer crowned with ram-horns and plumes. Both are pictures of splendid: 美麗、美好. The name 美國 borrows only the sound.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
祭典上，那人（大）頭上的羊角羽飾（羊）一晃一晃，全場的眼睛都跟著他。
At the festival, the horned headdress (羊) sways — and every eye follows the dancer (大).
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)美（甘美、好看）— fine, delicious, beautiful常用
→美好、讚美— lovely; to praise
(假借)美國、美金— America — a sound-loan
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension