Where does “三枚目” come from?

三枚目 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 目, from Middle Chinese 目.

三枚目 (Japanese): the third sheet or other flat thing

Definitions

  1. the third sheet or other flat thing

Ancestry of “三枚目”, step by step

三枚目 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 目

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese目an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger...
2Middle Chinese目—

via Japanese 三

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese三three, 3; third; three
2Middle Chineseさん—

via Japanese 枚

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese枚an object that is thin and flat
Every word from Middle Chinese 目 →Every word from Japanese 目 →