条约
tiáoyuē · HSK 7
convention
📜🤝 条 article/clause + 约 agreement = a pact written out in numbered clauses
条 means an item or article (as in a list of clauses), and 约 means agreement or pact. A 条约 is an accord set down article by article — a treaty. The tiáo sound also starts 条件 (conditions), the terms such a pact lays out.
条 — 攵 (tap) + 木 (tree); originally 攸 + 木
Originally written with 攸 (a flowing stream) over 木 (tree), 条 depicted slender twigs or branches of a tree. The meaning extended from 'thin branch' to any long, narrow item, then to 'strip,' 'item,' or 'article' as a measure word. The modern simplified form keeps 攵 over 木.
约 — silk radical 糹/纟 + ladle 勺
约 combines the silk radical 糹 with 勺 (ladle), which provides the sound. Originally it referred to binding or tying with silk cords, from which came the meanings 'to bind by agreement,' hence 'pact, appointment,' and later 'approximately' (a loose, tied-up estimate).