sort; kind; class; way; manner
Phonosemantic compound. 殳 represents the meaning and 凡 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "tray", now written as 盤/槃. The current meaning is a phonetic loan. The original 凡 component was later corrupted to 舟 (boat).
《說文》：“般，辟也。象舟之旋，从舟，从殳。殳，所以旋也。，古文般从支。”
tray