出
で · de · JLPT N3 · noun
escape
🚪🚶 で as in debut: the moment you come out in front of everyone
Etymology: the oldest form shows a foot stepping up and out of a pit or doorway, so the root idea is leaving an enclosed space. で is the reading in 出る (deru, to go out) and 出口 (deguchi, exit); graduating is leaving school the same way.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'