to recommend; to recur, to repeat
Depicts an animal (廌) eating grass (艹) in a pasture. Based on the original meaning "pasture, straw mat". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
《說文》：“薦，獸之所食艸。从廌，从艸。古者神人以廌遺黃帝，帝曰：‘何食？何處？’曰：‘食薦；夏處水澤，冬處松柏。’”
pasture, straw mat