引受る
ひきうける · hikiukeru · JLPT N2 · verb-ichidan
to take over
引 (pull in) + 受 (receive) = pull a job toward you and receive it: to undertake
Standard spelling is 引き受ける. 引 means pull toward and 受 means receive, so you pull a task toward yourself and accept it. Take over = pull it in and hold it.
引 — bow 弓 + vertical stroke 丨
A compound ideograph showing a bow 弓 with a vertical line 丨 representing the drawn bowstring. The original meaning was 'to draw a bow,' which extended to 'pull,' 'lead,' 'guide,' and 'cite.' The vertical stroke depicts the action of pulling the string back.
受 — hand 爫 (top) + 冖 + hand 又 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph showing two hands passing an object (the middle 冖 represented a boat or tray) between them. It depicted the act of giving and receiving, so the character meant both 'to give' and 'to receive.' Later 授 was created with the hand radical 扌 to mean 'give,' leaving 受 to mean 'receive' or 'accept.'