出席
chūxí · HSK 4
attend
🙋 出席 = 出 (go out) + 席 (seat) — go out to your seat = attend
出 means to go out or exit; 席 originally meant a woven mat for sitting, later a seat or place at a gathering. Together: go take your seat at the event — i.e. be present, attend.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'
席 — 广 (shelter) + 巾 (cloth), over woven mat 苫
Originally a pictograph of a woven mat or rush mat used for sitting on the floor, with 巾 (cloth) hinting at the woven material under a shelter 广. Because guests were seated on such mats, 席 extended to mean 'seat,' 'place at a banquet,' and later any 'seat' or 'membership' in a group.