Where does “nekodamashi” come from?

nekodamashi (English) comes from Japanese 猫騙し, from Japanese 猫, from Old Japanese ねこ.

nekodamashi (English): The act of clapping the hands in order to distract one's opponent

Definitions

  1. The act of clapping the hands in order to distract one's opponent

Ancestry of “nekodamashi”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese猫騙しloudly clapping hands in front of an opponent’s face to distract them at the start of a sumo match
2Japanese猫a cat
3Old Japaneseねこ—
Every word from Old Japanese ねこ →Every word from Japanese 猫 →Every word from Japanese 猫騙し →
nekodamashi — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer