放送
ほうそうする · housousuru · JLPT N4 · noun
broadcast medium
📻📺 放送 = release + send: releasing a signal and sending it out
放 (hou) means to release or let go; 送 (sou) means to send. A broadcast is a programme let loose and sent out to everyone at once. Adding する turns the noun into the verb to broadcast. Sound hook: hou-sou, the host sews the show together.
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'.
送 — 辶 (walk) + 关 (simplified from 灷, fire/torch)
Originally depicted hands holding a torch to escort someone on a journey, combined with the 'walk' radical 辶. The right side 关 is a simplification of an older form showing fire being carried. The core meaning evolved from 'escort/see off' to the broader sense of 'send' or 'give as a gift.'