TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
第
第 ＝ ⺮ ＋ 弟
ㄉㄧˋ · dì
prefix — ordinal marker (第一, 第二)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
⺮義bamboo — slips bound for writing
弟聲dì — gives the sound, exactwritten here without its top ticks; 弟 itself is cord wound down a stake, turn after turn
Bamboo (⺮) slips bound in order, 弟 dì sounding it exactly — 弟 itself is cord wound down a stake, one turn after the next. 第 is the order things come in: 第一、第二; making the examination list was 及第.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
竹簡（⺮）一片片排開，繩子按著號一圈圈繞過去——第一、第二、第三。
The bamboo slips (⺮) laid out in a row; the cord loops through them in order — first, second, third.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)次序— sequence, order
→第一、第二— the ordinal prefix常用
→及第— placed on the examination list
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension