引
yǐn · HSK 4
to draw (e.g. a bow); to pull
🏹 引 = 弓 (bow) + 丨 (drawn arrow line) — pulling the bowstring back
Etymology: a bow 弓 with a vertical stroke showing the string being drawn. From 'draw/pull' it extended to 'lead, guide' and then 'quote, cite' — to draw words out of a source.
引 — bow 弓 + vertical stroke 丨
A compound ideograph showing a bow 弓 with a vertical line 丨 representing the drawn bowstring. The original meaning was 'to draw a bow,' which extended to 'pull,' 'lead,' 'guide,' and 'cite.' The vertical stroke depicts the action of pulling the string back.