放る
ほうる · houru · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to let go
🎈 放 = 方 (direction) + 攵 (tap): tap something off in a direction, then let it go
The same 放 appears in 放棄 (hōki, abandon) and 解放 (kaihō, liberation). Both keep the sense of releasing something away.
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'.