Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
使 pairs 亻 person with 吏 lì, which points to officials and also hints at the sound. Officials are the ones who give orders, so the first sense is 'to give orders'. From there it grew to 'to send', 'agent', 'to cause', and 'to use'. The sound link to 吏 is not clear in Mandarin.
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