How does 稱's 2021 meanings appertain to its semantic component 禾? CUHK doesn't expound the semantic shift from 禾. I   underlined definition 4 below in green, because I know that rice and grains may need to be weighed. But I don't understand how  definition 4 relates to the other definitions. When you weigh something, you're reporting a rational number. Weighing something differs from calling, naming, commend, praising something.    Yellowbridge.

ABC Chinese–English Comprehensive Dictionary 2003 edn. p 104.
How does 稱's 2021 meanings appertain to its semantic component 禾?

The meanings which aren't related to weighing are not really related to 「禾」 - these meanings were actually held by 「爯」. 「稱」 and 「爯」 are related by the following:

「稱」 is a complexification of 「爯」.
「爯」 originally meant to lift up. This was eventually semantically extended to to commend, to praise, then to call, to name.
「爯」 later acquired the meaning to weigh.
「爯」 has now been totally replaced by 「稱」, so 「稱」 has acquired most/all senses of what was originally represented by 「爯」.






時期字體
字形
參考資料




商甲

鐵102.2合集7395


西周金

裘衛盉集成9456


戰國・楚金

者⿰水尸鎛集成123


篆

冓部說文解字


楷






「爯」 depicts a hand 「爫・爪」 grabbing a fish 「魚」 upwards (e.g. out of the water), indicating the original meaning to lift up, to raise up. Occasionally, 「爯」 was complexified with extra components, which don't survive today.
　
The meaning to lift up, to raise up is given in e.g. 《甲骨文合集》32420:


丁戼（卯）鼎（貞）：「／
王（其）爯（琡），／
尞（燎）三，／
戼（劉）...... 牢？／
」
Divination on the day of dīngmǎo, it is asked: &quot;Shall the king offer up a ceremonial jade weapon, conduct a burning ritual with three penned sheep, and perform a slaughtering ritual......penned cattle?&quot;

Very early on, 「爯」 or its variations started also acquiring the meaning to weigh. From the Late Warring States State of Jìn artefact 信安君鼎《殷周金文集成》2773:


⿰言身（信）安君厶（私）官／
（容）⿱八斗（㪵）／
⿱罒氏（視）叓（事）欨、⿰⿱冫火刂（冶）癐／
十二秊（年）／
⿱爯又（稱・秤）二益（鎰）六釿／
[DǏNG VESSEL] OF THE BUTLER FOR THE LORD OF XÌN'ĀN
Vessel capacity: half a dǒu
Officer on duty: 欨
Vessel bronzesmith: 癐
[Date:] Year 12
Vessel weight: 2 yì and 6 jīn

Since 「爯」 had taken up too many meanings, semantic components were sometimes piled on to the character to disambiguate the uses:

「偁」 was created emphasise the meaning to lift, raise &gt; to praise, by drawing a person 「人」 behind the hand 「爫・爪」:
商金偁缶作且癸集成3601西周金戜者鼎集成2662篆人部說文解字楷　

「稱」 was created by adding semantic 「禾」 (crops), as weighing crops and grain from harvest was a common and important activity in Ancient China.


Unfortunately, the character 「偁」 fell into disuse, so 「稱」 in turn also became overloaded. This was probably the major reason for the creation of 「秤」, which is only used for meanings to do with weighing, balance, scales, and not used for the overloaded meanings to raise, to praise, to call that 「稱」 had taken on.

References:

漢語多功能字庫
季旭昇《說文新證》
何琳儀《戰國古文字典：戰國文字聲系》
陳劍《說殷墟甲骨文中的「玉戚」》
小學堂

字形演變
甲骨文
金文
異體字表


國學大師

郭沫若《甲骨文合集》
中國社會科學院考古研究所《殷周金文集成》


中國哲學書電子化計劃

宋・徐鉉等奉敕校定　漢・許慎《說文解字》