跨ぐ
またぐ · matagu · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to step over/across
🦵 跨ぐ: from 股 (mata, thigh or crotch) plus ぐ, meaning to move the legs across a gap
The kanji 跨 means straddle. 股 (mata) is the crotch or inner thigh, and the verb uses that root because stepping over something means carrying your legs across it. The same verb covers a bridge that spans a river.
跨 — foot 足 + 夸 (kuā, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 gives the meaning, since 跨 originally described stepping over or straddling something with the legs. The right side 夸 supplies the sound. The meaning later extended to 'span' or 'across,' as in crossing regions or eras.