雇主
gùzhǔ · HSK 7
employer
👔 雇主 = 雇 (hire) + 主 (master) — the hiring master, i.e. employer
雇 means to hire or employ; 主 means master or owner. Together 雇主 literally reads as the hiring master — the one who employs you. The English glosses (gaffer, governor, master) are all old slang for boss.
雇 — door 户 + short-tailed bird 隹
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 隹 (bird) gives the meaning and 户 (door) hints at the sound, referring to a migratory bird (a type of cuckoo). The meaning later shifted by loan to 'hire' or 'employ', as in 雇佣, while the original bird sense faded from common use.
主 — flame/lamp on top of a stand 王
Originally a pictograph of a lamp with a flame on top of its stand, representing the lord or master of the household who tended the fire. The meaning extended from 'lamp/host' to 'master, owner, main, principal'. The character 炷 (wick) preserves the original 'lamp' sense.