巴士底狱 (bā shì dǐ yù) — Bastille (historic prison in Paris, stormed in the French Revolution)

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

底 pairs 广 (building) with 氐, pointing to the bottom or foundation of a building. Some read 氐 as a bowing figure or tree root, adding a sense of 'down'.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獄; 狱 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 獄 pairs 㹜 (two dog forms) with 言 (words), showing dogs barking at each other in a jail with guard dogs. The simplified 狱 is a later shorthand.