Where does “だって” come from?

だって (Japanese) comes from Japanese だ, from Japanese である, from Japanese で, from Japanese ぜ, from Japanese ぞえ, from Japanese え, from Middle Chinese 衣.

だって (Japanese): binding particle

Definitions

  1. binding particle

Ancestry of “だって”, step by step

だって traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese だ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1JapaneseだFollowing parts of speech that do not inflect by...
2JapaneseであるTo be: the copula, with the same function as だ and its polite form です
3Japaneseでat; with, by, using; indicating the following...
4Japaneseぜsentence-ending particle signifying emphasis,...
5Japaneseぞえ­ sentence-ending particle signifying emphasis, used to lightly press one's point, with affectionate overtones
6JapaneseえAlternative form of い
7Middle Chinese衣—

via Japanese とて

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseとてeven; even if, even though; however, whatever,...
Every word from Middle Chinese 衣 →Every word from Japanese え →Every word from Japanese ぞえ →