Where does “とか” come from?

とか (Japanese) comes from Japanese と, from Old Japanese と, from Proto-Japonic tə, from Proto-Uralic tä — that.

とか (Japanese): something like, some kind of; where the situation is unclear

Definitions

  1. something like, some kind of; where the situation is unclear

Ancestry of “とか”, step by step

とか traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese と

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseとwith; and; a particle following a phrase or...
2Old Japaneseと—
3Proto-Japonictəplace
4Proto-Uralictäthat

via Japanese か

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseかfinal interrogative particle, similar to a...
2Japaneseいつかsometime, at some point
Every word from Proto-Uralic tä →Every word from Proto-Japonic tə →Every word from Old Japanese と →