足元
あしもと · ashimoto · JLPT N2 · noun
at one's feet
👣 足元 = foot (足 ashi) + base (元 moto): the base of your feet
足 ashi means foot or leg, and 元 moto means origin or base, so the word is the ground under your feet. Station signs say 足元にご注意ください, which means watch your step. It can also mean your current footing or situation.
足 — top 口 (mouth/enclosure) + bottom 止 (foot)
Originally a pictograph of a leg and foot, with the upper square representing the knee or shin and the lower part 止 depicting the foot itself. It primarily means 'foot' and by extension 'sufficient' or 'enough,' a meaning shift likely from the idea of standing firmly or having a solid footing.
元 — 二 (two) + 兒 variant 儿 (legs/person)
元 originally depicted a person with the head emphasized on top, meaning 'head' or 'origin'. From this came the extended senses of 'first', 'beginning', and 'primary'. It was later borrowed as the name of the Yuan dynasty and the modern Chinese currency unit.