Where does “まのあたり” come from?

まのあたり (Japanese) comes from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

まのあたり (Japanese): the immediate area in front of one's eyes

Definitions

  1. the immediate area in front of one's eyes

Ancestry of “まのあたり”, step by step

まのあたり traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese の

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseのgenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
2Old Japaneseのplain, field
3Middle Chinese能talent, ability

via Japanese 目

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese目an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger...
2Middle Chinese目—
Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →