Where does “お坊さん” come from?

お坊さん (Japanese) comes from Japanese さん, from Japanese 様, from Middle Chinese 樣.

お坊さん (Japanese): a Buddhist monk, a bonze

Definitions

  1. a Buddhist monk, a bonze

Ancestry of “お坊さん”, step by step

お坊さん traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese さん

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1JapaneseさんA title used after person's name regardless of...
2Japanese様way, style, appearance; be like, look like, seem...
3Middle Chinese樣—

via Japanese 坊

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese坊monk; boy, monk; dear, beloved
Every word from Middle Chinese 樣 →Every word from Japanese 様 →Every word from Japanese さん →