Where does “の” come from?

の (Chinese) comes from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

の (Chinese): Nonstandard form of 的; Nonstandard form of 之

Definitions

  1. Nonstandard form of 的; Nonstandard form of 之

Ancestry of “の”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseのgenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
2Old Japaneseのplain, field
3Middle Chinese能talent, ability
Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →