棒を引く (bō o hiku: to draw a line) rod + to pull
Halpern actually defines 引 primarily as “to draw,” rather than “to pull.” But this kind of “drawing” has nothing to do with artistry. Rather, it refers to the following sorts of “drawing”:
• drawing toward an object
E.g., 引力 (inryoku: (physical) forces of
attraction, such as gravitational force)
to pull + force• the drawing out of a desk or dresser drawer
E.g., 引き出し (hikidashi: drawer)
drawing + coming out• the drawing of an archery bow
E.g., 弓を引く (yumi o hiku: to draw a bow)
bow + to pullLove the repetition of 弓 there!
In other words, this kind of “drawing” seems to belong to a stuffy old English lexicon, the same one that produced terms such as “drawing the curtains,” which really means “pulling the curtains closed.”
