TSUMUGU · B2 (est.) · 字
刑
刑 ＝ 刀 ＋ 丼
ㄒㄧㄥˊ · xíng
noun — a penalty, punishment; corporal/legal punishment
字源 FORM — what the parts do
丼聲jǐng — gives the sound, worn into the 开-like left half no longer read as 井
IFjǐng → xíng — the sound moves off the donor
A knife (刀, 刂 on the right) used to mete out a penalty — punishment. The left half is 丼 (= 井, a well), worn into an 开-like shape and no longer read as the well; it carried the sound jǐng, shifted to xíng. From the cutting penalty: 刑罰, 刑法, 嚴刑 — punishment, criminal law, severe penalty.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一把刀（刂）懸在那兒——這是要動刑了。
A knife (刂) hangs ready — the penalty is about to fall.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)刑罰、刑法— a penalty, punishment常用
→嚴刑、死刑— severe / capital punishment常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension