Originally a pictograph of a vessel for holding liquid, now written as 瓮, with the 瓦 (pottery) component added at the bottom. The current meaning "public" is a phonetic loan.
Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 口 than it was in ancient scripts.
Character Evolution
Oracle Bone~1250-1000 BCBronzeEarly Western Zhou~1000 BCBronzeLate Western Zhou~800 BCBronzeLate Western Zhou~800 BCBronzeEarly Spring and Autumn~700 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealWarring States (Chu)475-221 BCSealShuowen~100 ADClericalQin221-206 BCClericalWestern Han202 BC-9 ADClericalWestern Han202 BC-9 ADClericalEastern Han25-220 ADClericalEastern Han25-220 ADRegularModern
