Where does “おおぐま座” come from?

おおぐま座 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 大, from Old Japanese 大, from Proto-Japonic əpə — big, large; many.

おおぐま座 (Japanese): Ursa Major

Definitions

  1. Ursa Major

Ancestry of “おおぐま座”, step by step

おおぐま座 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 大

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese大big, large; the large part of; arch-
2Old Japanese大big, large; large
3Proto-Japonicəpəbig, large; many

via Japanese 熊

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese熊a bear; a bear, an otter
2Old Japaneseくま—
3Old Korean고마bear

via Japanese 座

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese座names of constellations; names of theaters
2Middle Chinese座—
Every word from Proto-Japonic əpə →Every word from Old Japanese 大 →Every word from Japanese 大 →