The story of 受

receive, accept

受 depicts a hand(又) giving a boat to another hand(爪). Boat is a vessel which can hold many many things, so it is used to represent something valuable. The shape of a boat in 受 was clear before, but now it has been simplified to two strokes. In the past, 受 meant the act of both giving and receiving, but then the act of giving had been replaced by 授. Now 受 solely means the act of receiving.