rod, stick, cane, pole, club, line
棒 centers on a long, rigid, cylindrical object: a rod, stick, pole, or cane. The club and line senses are natural extensions of that same straight, elongated shape.
棒 combines 木 (tree, wood) with 奉, which likely contributes the sound ホウ/ボウ. The compound suggests a wooden object, hence a stick or rod.
A wooden 木 offering 奉: imagine a long wooden stick being offered ceremonially, like a staff or pole.
For ボウ, picture a bow made from a long wooden stick: bow -> ボウ, and the stick bends into a bow shape.
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pole; rod; stick; baton
partner; pal; accomplice
thief; burglar; robber
bodyguard; bouncer; (security) guard
reading in a monotone; stiff delivery; wooden delivery
cotton swab
stick; club; cudgel; bludgeon
iron rod; iron bar; iron club
cylinder or rod-shaped
(police officer's) baton; truncheon; billy club
standing upright; standing bolt upright; rearing
curt; blunt; brusque
front or rear of a palanquin (carried by two people); one of two people carrying a palanquin
metal rod; metal bar; iron rod; crowbar
pole vault
(conductor's) baton; stick
drawing a line (esp. through an entry in a ledger, record book, etc.); striking out; crossing out
bang bang chicken (Szechuan dish of chicken in a spicy sauce)
bar graph; bar chart
rolling pin