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Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:
Pictogram (象形) – a stylized hand, with bent wrist/forearm (hence the hook stroke at lower right). Earlier forms resemble 手(shǒu), 寸(cùn). The original meaning of the glyph was “elbow”, which is now written 肘 (OC *tkuʔ).
After the meaning “elbow” was forgotten, 九 was taken to symbolize a fist tightening to bump up against something; thus, there is a metaphorical bumping up of nine against ten, which is the last number when counting on one's fingers.
The Yellow River with its many twists and turns flows thousands of miles full of sand / Carried by its waves stirred up by the wind coming from a faraway land.
In the first and the second nine-day period, one should not take out one's hand; / In the third and the fourth nine-day period, the ice is thick enough to stand.
From Middle Chinese九 (MC kjuwX). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing. Borrowed after palatalization occurred in Middle Chinese. Compare modern Hakka九(giu3).
Generally only used when counting out loud, as in the example above. In writing, usually found spelled out in hiragana as この to make the reading unambiguous.