Where does “ごんぎょう” come from?

ごんぎょう (Japanese) comes from Middle Chinese きょう, from Old Japanese けふ, from Old Japanese 日, from Proto-Japonic *pi — day, sun.

Ancestry of “ごんぎょう”, step by step

ごんぎょう traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle Chinese きょう

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Chineseきょう
2Old Japaneseけふtoday
3Old Japanesethe sun; sunlight, sunshine; daytime, daylight
4Proto-Japonic*piday, sun

via Middle Chinese こん

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Chineseこん
Every word from Proto-Japonic *piEvery word from Old Japanese Every word from Old Japanese けふ
ごんぎょう — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer