hook, barb, gaff, brackets
鉤 centers on a curved or bent metal object used for catching, holding, or fastening: a hook, barb, or gaff. The brackets sense extends this idea to a pair of hook-like marks used to enclose text.
鉤 combines 金 (metal) with 句, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of a bent or hooked shape. The character originally referred to a metal hook.
The left side 金 means metal, and the right side 句 looks like a bent shape with a mouth-like opening. Picture a metal hook curved like 句, ready to catch something.
For コウ, imagine a metal hook catching a coat: coat -> コウ, and the hook holds it firmly.
fishing hook
hook
claw; talon
grappling hook; grappling iron
New World hookworm (Necator americanus)
old world hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale)
in calligraphy, a style of holding the brush between the thumb and index finger
in calligraphy, a style of holding the brush between the thumb and the index and middle fingers
clasp
style of drawing the human face, popular in the Heian period
short gaff; hand gaff; hook on a wooden handle
artificial fly; lure
pork tapeworm (Taenia solium)
taeniasis; cysticercosis
hamate bone; unciform bone; hooked bone
(artificial) fly; fly lure
tail (of a note)
pothook (for hanging a pot, etc. over a fire)
right-angled bend
hook and eye (clothing fastener)