draft, manuscript, rough copy
稾 centers on an early, unpolished written version: a draft, manuscript, or rough copy before the final clean version.
稾 is the older form of 稿. It combines 禾 (grain) with 高, which likely contributed the sound. The modern form 稿 rearranges the components.
The top 高 suggests something tall or piled up, and the bottom 禾 is grain. Picture a tall stack of rough grain stalks that still needs to be processed into a clean final product, just like a rough draft.
For コウ, imagine a writer named Kou who always writes rough drafts on grain paper: Kou -> コウ, and the draft is stacked high like grain.