牽 (qiān)
to drag, to pull, to lead by the hand
Etymology
Depicts a person (人) leading an ox (牛) by the nose (自). The 人 and 自 components were later corrupted into phonetic 玄.
Shuowen Jiezi
《說文》:“牽,引前也。从牛,象引牛之縻也,玄聲。”
Components
- 玄 (sound)
- 自 (iconic) — Depicts a nose.
- 牛 (iconic)