排除
はいじょ · haijo · JLPT N1 · noun
exclusion
排 (arrange, line up) + 除 (remove, divide out) = push out and take away
排 means to line up or arrange, and 除 means to remove or eliminate. Together 排除 means to push something out of a group and get rid of it.
排 — hand radical 扌 + 非 (fēi, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 gives the meaning (an action done with the hands), while 非 supplies the sound. The original sense was to push or shove aside with the hand, which extended to arranging things in a row, hence modern meanings like 'to arrange,' 'a row,' or 'to reject.'
除 — left ear/mound 阝 + surplus 余
除 combines the 'mound/steps' radical 阝 (originally 阜, a hill) with 余 as the phonetic. It first meant the steps of a palace, then extended to 'remove' or 'clear away' (as one sweeps steps clean), and later to mathematical 'divide.'