Where does “wu” come from?

Wu is a Mandarin Chinese word 巫 of unknown ultimate origin, traditionally referring to a shaman or spirit medium.

wu (English): A Chinese shaman

Definitions

  1. A Chinese shaman

Ancestry of “wu”, step by step

wu traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Chinese 伍

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese伍—
2Chinese亻—
3Chinese工—

via Chinese 吳

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese吳—

via Cantonese 胡

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Cantonese胡—
Every word from Chinese 工 →Every word from Chinese 亻 →Every word from Chinese 伍 →