兼ねる
かねる · kaneru · JLPT N2 · suffix
to simultaneously serve two or more functions
🔧🔨 兼 = both at once; 兼ねる = to double as two things at the same time
兼 means both or at once. 兼ねる means one thing serves two roles together. Example: この部屋は書斎と寝室を兼ねている (this room doubles as a study and a bedroom).
兼 — hand 又 holding two grain stalks 秝
兼 is an ideograph showing a hand (又) grasping two stalks of grain (秝) at once. The original meaning was 'to hold two things together,' which extended to 'combine,' 'simultaneously,' and 'both.' This sense of doubling up survives in modern compounds like 兼职 (hold a concurrent job).