Where does “Ōshima” come from?

Ōshima (English) comes from Japanese 大島, from Japanese 大, from Old Japanese 大, from Proto-Japonic əpə — big, large; many.

Ōshima (English): One of four subprefectures in Tokyo, occupying a part of the Izu Islands

Definitions

  1. One of four subprefectures in Tokyo, occupying a part of the Izu Islands

Ancestry of “Ōshima”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese大島large island
2Japanese大big, large; the large part of; arch-
3Old Japanese大big, large; large
4Proto-Japonicəpəbig, large; many
Every word from Proto-Japonic əpə →Every word from Old Japanese 大 →Every word from Japanese 大 →