休
キュウ, やす.む, やす.まる, やす.める

rest, day off, retire, sleep

JLPT5 G1 S6 F642

人 person + 木 tree/wood, the latter in all likelihood a remnant of an obsolete phonetic element# that, as with other terms in Old Chinese cognate with 休, involved curvature with respect to an actual or figurative frame. The combination of elements may have suggested a person resting in the shade of a tree with curved branches, or that of a curved, wooden construction → *rest*; *stop*; *quit*. Extended meanings include *recess*; (a) *break/breather*; *holiday*; *vacation*; *day(s) off* (from work); *absence*; *sleep*; *suspend* (work); *stop* (doing); and *lay fallow*.

[Full Kanji Etymology List]