Where does “どうぞ” come from?

どうぞ (Japanese) comes from Japanese ぞ, from Japanese あり — 有り existing; 蟻 ant.

どうぞ (Japanese): used to express one's strong desire for something; no matter how; by all means; seriously

Definitions

  1. used to express one's strong desire for something; no matter how; by all means; seriously

Ancestry of “どうぞ”, step by step

どうぞ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesea particle used at the end of sentences, which...
2Japaneseあり有り existing; 蟻 ant

via Japanese どう

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseどうin what manner, how; what about..; Casual...
Every word from Japanese ありEvery word from Japanese