Where does “emoji” come from?

emoji (French) comes from Japanese 絵文字, from Japanese 絵, from Middle Chinese 繪.

emoji (French): emoji

Definitions

  1. emoji

Ancestry of “emoji”, step by step

emoji traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 絵文字

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese絵文字pictograph; emoji: emoticons that originated in...
2Japanese絵picture, painting; drawing, sketch
3Middle Chinese繪—

via Japanese えもじ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseえもじ—
2JapaneseえAlternative form of い
3Middle Chinese衣—
Every word from Middle Chinese 繪 →Every word from Japanese 絵 →Every word from Japanese 絵文字 →