特派

とくは · tokuha · JLPT N1 · noun

special envoy

✉️ 特 = special + 派 = dispatch: someone specially dispatched as an envoy

派 means to send out or dispatch a person, as in 派遣. Adding 特 (special) gives an envoy sent out for a particular mission.

特 — cow 牛 + temple 寺 (phonetic)
Originally referred to a male bull or large ox, with 牛 'cow' as the meaning component and 寺 supplying the sound. Over time it shifted from 'bull' to 'special, particular, unique,' the sense used today.

派 — water radical 氵 + 𠂢 (branching stream)
派 originally depicted branching tributaries of a river, with 氵 (water) added to reinforce the meaning. The right side 𠂢 shows a stream splitting into smaller channels. From 'river branch' it extended to mean a faction, school, or to dispatch/send out.

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