rent, lease

租 is composed of 禾(grain) and 且(and, yet). 禾 is the pictograph of a cereal plant, representing grain or crops, while 且 depicts a chopping board and conveys the idea of dividing or cutting apart. In ancient times, feudal lords who owned land would divide it into smaller plots and lend them to tenant farmers, receiving a portion of the grain produced on that land as payment; thus 租 came to mean rent.