Where does “ヒアリ” come from?

ヒアリ (Japanese) comes from Japanese 蟻, from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

ヒアリ (Japanese): fire ant, especially the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

Definitions

  1. fire ant, especially the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

Ancestry of “ヒアリ”, step by step

ヒアリ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseant; an ant, particularly one without wings; an...
2Japanesegenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
3Old Japaneseplain, field
4Middle Chinesetalent, ability

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese"term relating to fire"; a light; a burning...
2Old Japanesea fire; a light
3Proto-Japonicpoyfire
4Proto-Japonicpo
Every word from Middle Chinese Every word from Old Japanese Every word from Japanese