many, complicated

繁 is composed of 敏 (quick) and the radical of 糸 (silk). Since 敏 depicted urging a woman to bear children frequently and carried the sense of vast numbers or multiplicity, but later developed other primary meanings, 繁 was created to inherit this original concept of abundance. When silk threads exist in great abundance, they easily become tangled together, 繁 also has the meaning of complex, intricate, or elaborate.