Where does “下司” come from?

下司 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 下, from Middle Chinese 下.

下司 (Japanese): an inferior official; a petty official; an...

Definitions

  1. an inferior official; a petty official; an...

Ancestry of “下司”, step by step

下司 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 下

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese下the below; the lower portion, end; low in degree...
2Middle Chinese下—

via Japanese 司

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese司official; government official
Every word from Middle Chinese 下 →Every word from Japanese 下 →