匘
nǎo

brain

Variant of 腦. Depicts a figure (夒) holding an axe (戌) behind their back. 夒 also represents the sound. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

夒
夒 SoundIconic component
náo monkey

Depicts a monkey-like figure.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 夒 than it was in ancient scripts.
戌
戌 Iconic component
xū, qu 11th terrestrial branch

Depicts an axe. Here turned upside-down. Modern form looks like 囟.

Change in form
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 戌 than it was in ancient scripts.

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangnuːʔ

說文解字

《說文》：“匘，頭也。从匕，匕，相匕著也。巛象髮，囟象匘形。”

Sources

Character origin
布之道回答《《说文解字》“匘，頭髓也。从囟，从匕，相匕著也。”相匕著什么意思？》
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)