Why does 就范 mean "to give in"? What is the etymology of this word?
As far as I know 就 means:
to start or to enter, which sometimes is being interpreted as to take some thing (to enter a position of...)
So I just can't see why &quot;surrender&quot;. Maybe there is some story to that word?
就 here means 迁就，将就, &quot;to accept&quot; in english
范 here means &quot;standard, model&quot;; in history 范 is the model to cast iron.
So 就范 means &quot;fit in a model&quot; (given by others) in very strict way from the original meaning. It's a strong word, you can understand it as &quot;surrender&quot;.