干し物
ほしもの · hoshimono · JLPT N1 · noun
apparel
👕 干し (hoshi: hang out to dry) + 物 (mono: things) = things hung out to dry, i.e. washing
Same 干し as in 日干し (sun-drying) and 干し柿 (dried persimmon). Hoshimono is the laundry you hang outside, so the word literally means hung-out-to-dry things.
干 — pictograph of a forked weapon/shield
干 originally depicted a forked wooden weapon or shield used in ancient warfare, giving the early sense of 'to offend' or 'to oppose.' Over time it took on extended meanings like 'to concern' and 'trunk/stem.' In modern simplified Chinese it also absorbed 乾 (dry) and 幹 (to do; trunk), so one character now covers several unrelated words.