片仮名
かたかな · katakana · JLPT N5 · noun
katakana
片仮名 = fragment + borrowed + name: letters cut from pieces of kanji
片 (kata) means fragment or one side; 仮名 (kana) is borrowed name, i.e. kanji borrowed for sound. Each katakana was made by taking one piece of a full kanji: カ is the left part of 加, イ the left part of 伊.
片 — right half of 木 (tree split vertically)
Pictograph showing the right half of a tree 木 split down the middle, depicting a thin slice or slab of wood. From this came the meanings 'slice,' 'flat thin piece,' and by extension 'sheet' or 'card.' Its mirror image 爿 represents the left half.
名 — evening 夕 + mouth 口
A compound ideograph: in the dark of evening (夕), one cannot recognize others by sight, so the mouth (口) calls out a name to identify oneself. The original sense of 'name' broadened to include reputation, fame, and a measure word for people.