一段と
いちだんと · ichidanto · JLPT N2 · noun
army for the liberation of rwanda
🪜 一段 = one + step: everything goes one step higher, so even more, by far
段 (dan) means a step or grade, the same dan as in a black-belt rank. 一段と says something has gone up one more grade, so it is noticeably more, by far. Example: 一段と寒い means it is even colder.
一 — single horizontal stroke
一 is one of the simplest pictographs in Chinese, depicting a single horizontal line to represent the number one. It has retained essentially the same form since oracle bone script over 3,000 years ago. By extension it also means 'first,' 'whole,' or 'same.'
段 — left component 𠂉 + right component 殳 (weapon/strike)
段 originally depicted striking or hammering a piece of stone or metal with a tool, shown by the 殳 'strike' element on the right. From this 'hammering/forging' sense it extended to mean a section or segment cut off, and today it commonly means a paragraph, stage, or piece.