且
qiě · HSK 7
且 = three horizontal lines stacked on a base; an ancient pictograph of a stacked offering stand, borrowed for 'moreover / and also'
qiě adds one more thing onto what came before, like another layer added to the stack. Common in 而且 (ér qiě = moreover) and 并且 (bìng qiě = and also). The base line under the strokes anchors the pile.
且 — pictograph of an ancestral tablet or stacked offerings
且 originally depicted an ancestral spirit tablet or a stand holding ritual offerings, and it served as the early form of 祖 (ancestor). Over time it was borrowed to write the unrelated grammatical word meaning 'moreover' or 'and also,' so a new character 祖 was created for the original sense.