TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
鐵
鐵 ＝ 金 ＋ 𢧜
ㄊㄧㄝˇ · tiě
noun — iron; adj — iron-hard, unbudging
字源 FORM — what the parts do
𢧜聲dié — gives the sound
{t,d}ITdié → tiě — a step inside {d,t}; tone shifts too
Metal (金) classifies it; 𢧜 dié carries the sound, d hardened to t. The old books call it 黑金 — black metal, the cheap hard one that took over from bronze. What iron is, words borrow: 鐵路 the iron road, 鐵定 iron-certain, 鐵了心 a heart gone iron.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
爐門一開，黑金（金）燒得透紅，鎚子一下一下落下去。
The furnace door swings open; the black metal (金) glows through-red, and the hammer falls, stroke after stroke.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)鐵（黑金）— iron — the black metal常用
→鐵路、鐵器— things built of it — railways, ironware
→鐵定、鐵了心— iron-firm — certainty that won't bend
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension