What does 약간 (若干) literally mean?

 ANSWER: Like a shield?

My Korean-English dictionary defines 약간 (若干) as "some," "a little," or "a few," but the word literally means "like (若) a shield (干)." So how did the phrase "like a shield" come to mean "some"?

The Chinese character 干 (간) means "shield," but when you break it down into its component parts, you get 一 (일) and 十 (십), which mean "one" (一) and "ten" (十), and that suggests a range of numbers from "one" to "ten." So, in this case 약간 (若干) literally means "like (若) one (一) [or] ten (十)."

Even though Koreans now use 약간 to include the meanings "a little" and "a few," it seems to have originally meant "some" or "somewhat," referring to an unspecified number, amount, or degree.

From Dong-A's Prime Korean-English Dictionary