loins, hips, waist, low wainscoting
腰 centers on the body's central pivot area: the waist, hips, and lower back (loins). The architectural sense of low wainscoting extends this idea to a structural waistline on a wall.
腰 combines ⺼ (flesh/body part) with 要, which likely contributes both sound and the idea of something central or pivotal, referring to the waist as the body's pivot.
The flesh radical ⺼ marks a body part, and 要 suggests something essential or pivotal. Picture the waist as the body's crucial pivot point where bending and turning happen.
For ヨウ, imagine a yoga instructor saying 'yo!' while pointing at the waist: 'Yo!' -> ヨウ, and the waist is the center of the pose.
lower back; waist; hips; lumbar region
lower back pain; lumbago
legs and loins; lower body
seat; bench
coward
strenuous effort; earnestness; seriousness
manner; demeanour; demeanor; bearing
loins; hips; pelvic region; waist
weak attitude
lumbar vertebra; lumbar vertebrae
strained back; slipped disk; lumbosacral strain
unarmed; without weapons
hanger-on; follower; flunky; sycophant
belligerent attitude; readiness to fight; belligerence
half-sitting posture; half-standing posture; half-rising posture; stooping position
to sit (down)
bent back
gait; posture
collapsing in the middle of a bout
preparing to flee; being ready to run away