放す
はなす · hanasu · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to set free
🕊️ 放す hanasu = let go; same sound as 話す, to speak: words set free
放 is the 放 in 解放 (liberation) and 放送 (broadcast): sending something out. 話す (speak) and 離す (separate) are also read hanasu. Speaking lets words go, separating lets hands go, and 放す lets a captive go.
放 — 方 (square/phonetic) + 攵 (rap/strike radical)
放 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 方 supplies the sound and 攵 (a hand holding a stick) supplies the meaning of striking or driving away. The original sense was to banish or drive out, which broadened over time to 'release', 'let go', and 'put down'.