Where does “一位” come from?

一位 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 一, from Japanese 始め, from Japanese 始める — begin; start; initiate; originate.

一位 (Japanese): the first or foremost place, first rank

Definitions

  1. the first or foremost place, first rank

Ancestry of “一位”, step by step

一位 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 一

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese一one, 1; "term relating to the number one"; unity
2Japanese始めbeginning, the start of an activity or time...
3Japanese始めるbegin; start; initiate; originate

via Japanese 位

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese位rank; position; degree, rank
2Middle Chinese位—
Every word from Japanese 始める →Every word from Japanese 始め →Every word from Japanese 一 →