法 (fǎ)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 去 represents the sound. Originally written as 灋.

Shuowen Jiezi

《說文》：“灋，刑也。平之如水，从水；廌，所以觸不直者，去之，从去。法，今文省。佱，古文。”

Components

• 氵 (meaning) — Likely alludes to water always flowing in a given path, or water always being flat and level.
• 去 (sound)