Where does “チェシャ猫” come from?

チェシャ猫 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 猫, from Old Japanese ねこ.

チェシャ猫 (Japanese): Cheshire cat

Definitions

  1. Cheshire cat

Ancestry of “チェシャ猫”, step by step

チェシャ猫 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesea cat
2Old Japaneseねこ

via English Cheshire cat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishCheshire catA fictional cat with a broad fixed grin, made popular by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865)
2Englishgrin like a Cheshire catTo smile broadly, especially in a self-satisfied...

via Japanese チェシャ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1JapaneseチェシャCheshire
Every word from Old Japanese ねこEvery word from Japanese