The kanji 持 primarily conveys the meaning of "to hold," "to have," "to possess," or "to keep." It implies the act of grasping something in one's hands, retaining something, or maintaining a state. This can refer to physical objects, but also more abstract concepts like feelings or responsibilities.

・On-yomi (音読み): ジ (ji) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): も（つ） (mo(tsu))

⚫︎ 手（て）に持（も）つ Translation: To hold in one's hand. ⚫︎ 気持（きも）ち Translation: Feeling; emotion (literally "held feeling"). ⚫︎ 持（も）ち物（もの） Translation: Belongings; things one possesses.

The kanji 持 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is the "扌" radical (手), which represents the hand, indicating the meaning. The right side is "寺", which provides the phonetic component, suggesting the pronunciation "ji". Together, the character signifies the action of holding something with the hand.