TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
賽
ㄙㄞˋ · sài
noun/verb — contest; to compete
字源 FORM — what the parts do
Tsāi → sài — only the tone bends
Valuables (貝) under the packed top of 塞 sāi, which carries the sound with the tone bent — the old sense is to repay the gods: offerings laid out at the temple festival. Festival processions tried to outdo each other, and the outdoing kept the character: 比賽、賽跑、球賽.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
廟前兩張供桌對著擺，誰家的供品（貝）堆得高，全村看得見。
Two offering tables face off before the temple — whose pile of goods (貝) stands taller, the whole village can see.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)酬神、賽會— to repay the gods — the temple festival
→比賽、競賽— contest, match常用
⇒賽過— to outdo
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension