席
xí · HSK 7
mat
🪑 席 xí = a woven mat to sit on; the measure word for seats, banquets, and feasts
Originally a sitting mat, 席 came to mean seat or place, then a banquet held at such seats. As a measure word it counts seats, feasts, and spells of talk. Sounds like she, who takes her seat.
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.