TSUMUGU · TOCFL B1 (est.) · 字
砲
ㄆㄠˋ · pào
noun — cannon, artillery piece
字源 FORM — what the parts do
{b,p}ITbāo → pào — the {b,p} crossing; tone shifts too
Stone (石) and 包 bāo — the old engine that hurled stones, before gunpowder. The stone gives the sense of the launched mass, 包 the sound, worn from b to p. The siege machine kept its name when it became the cannon: 大砲, 開砲.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
石頭（石）裝進去，繩一鬆，轟地拋了出去。
A stone (石) loaded in; the rope lets go, and it is flung out with a roar.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)砲、抛石機— stone-hurling engine, cannon常用
→大砲、開砲— artillery; to fire常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension