Where does “万華鏡” come from?

万華鏡 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 華, from Old Japanese はな, from Proto-Ryukyuan *pana, from Proto-Japonic *pana — flower.

万華鏡 (Japanese): a kaleidoscope

Definitions

  1. a kaleidoscope

Ancestry of “万華鏡”, step by step

万華鏡 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 華

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese華flashiness, showiness
2Old Japaneseはな—
3Proto-Ryukyuan*panaflower
4Proto-Japonic*panaflower

via Chinese 万

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese万—
2Chinese萬10,000
3Proto-Sino-Tibetans-maŋ—

via Japanese 鏡

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese鏡a mirror
Every word from Proto-Japonic *pana →Every word from Proto-Ryukyuan *pana →Every word from Old Japanese はな →