Where does “すみ” come from?

すみ (Japanese) comes from Japanese み, from Japanese 見る, from Japanese 夢, from Old Japanese 夢, from Japanese 目, from Middle Chinese 目.

すみ (Japanese): charcoal

Definitions

  1. charcoal

Ancestry of “すみ”, step by step

すみ traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese み

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseみ身 body; 実 fruit; nut; content; 霊, 神 spirit; god
2Japanese見るto see, to watch, to observe, to look at...
3Japanese夢a dream; a vision; leaving reality to the state...
4Old Japanese夢a dream
5Japanese目an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger...
6Middle Chinese目—

via Japanese 酸

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese酸sourness; acid; Alternative spelling of 酢
2Middle Chinese酸—

via Japanese 済み

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese済み—
2Old Japanese済むto settle, finish

Words derived from “すみ”

Every word from Middle Chinese 目 →Every word from Japanese 目 →Every word from Old Japanese 夢 →