針路
しんろ · shinro · JLPT N2 · noun
direction
🧭 針路 = 針 needle + 路 road: the heading a ship sets by its compass needle
針 is the magnetic compass needle and 路 is road or route. A ship's course is the bearing its compass needle points along, so 針路 means course or direction.
路 — foot 足 + each 各 (phonetic)
路 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 on the left signals meaning related to walking or travel, while 各 on the right hints at the ancient pronunciation. Originally referring to a road traveled on foot, it broadened to mean 'road, path, route' in general.