Origin

The character 遵 combines a path or road radical (the classifying component on the left that indicates this is about movement or following a course) with the character 尊, which serves as a sound hint suggesting the pronunciation "jun." The semantic idea is that following a path — staying on it, not deviating — captures the meaning of "abide by" or "obey." Over time, this became extended to mean "follow" in a more general sense, including learning from someone by following their example.