TSUMUGU · TOCFL 4 (est.) · 字
州
ㄓㄡ · zhōu
noun — region, prefecture; (orig.) river islet
字源 FORM — what the parts do
州形river channels (川) with islets rising between them
The river drawn as 川, with dots of dry land rising mid-stream — islets, the first livable ground. The settled islets became districts, and 州 went to the maps: 荊州、加州; the islet itself took water back on and became 洲 — 亞洲, the continents.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
河水分成幾股（川），中間露出一塊乾地——可以搭屋了。
The river splits into channels (川); between them a patch of dry ground shows — enough to build on.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)水中的陸地— a river islet
→州、荊州、加州— region, prefecture, state常用
→洲（亞洲）— the islet sense, re-watered as 洲
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension