TSUMUGU · B2 (est.) · 字
茂
茂 ＝ 艸 ＋ 戊
ㄇㄠˋ · mào
adj — luxuriant, flourishing, dense (of plants)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
艸義grass, plants
戊聲wù — gives the soundthe fifth heavenly stem, here only for sound
IFTwù → mào — worn far from its donor
Grass (艸) over 戊 wù for the sound — plants grown thick and full. The picture is a field crowded with green: 茂盛、茂密、繁茂. The sound has drifted hard from 戊, which now mostly marks the calendar stem.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
草（艸）長到沒有空隙，一片密密的綠——茂。
The grass (艸) grows till there's no gap left, a dense wall of green — luxuriant.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)草盛— plants growing thick
→茂盛、茂密— luxuriant, dense常用
⇒繁茂、根深葉茂— flourishing — full growth
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
戊wùthe bare phonetic — 茂 grows on top; 戊 keeps no slash inside戍shùthe lookalike — 戍 carries a dot inside the 戈, is empty
演 · Evolution
聲音走得很遠：戊讀 wù，茂卻是 mào——聲母、韻母、聲調全變了。
The sound wandered far: 戊 reads wù, yet 茂 holds mào — initial, final and tone all shifted.