TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
萄
萄 ＝ 艸 ＋ 匋
ㄊㄠˊ · táo
noun — grape (only in 葡萄)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
艸義grass — the plant on top (寫作 艹)
匋聲táo — gives the sounda person (勹) bent over a kiln-pot (缶), shaping clay
Grass (艹) marks it a plant; 匋 táo — the potter at the kiln — gives the sound. The word lives only paired: 葡萄, the grape, a name carried in from the west on its sound. The same 匋 builds 陶.
意 · Meanings
(本義)葡萄— grape — the second half of the word常用
→葡萄乾— raisin — the dried grape
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension