Where does “不幸中の幸い” come from?

不幸中の幸い (Japanese) comes from Japanese 幸い, from Japanese sakiwai, from Japanese 幸, from Middle Chinese 幸.

Ancestry of “不幸中の幸い”, step by step

不幸中の幸い traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 幸い

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese幸いvery fortunate and happy, especially as bestowed...
2Japanesesakiwai—
3Japanese幸good luck, good fortune; happiness; an appearance...
4Middle Chinese幸—

via Japanese の

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseのgenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
2Old Japaneseのplain, field
3Middle Chinese能talent, ability

via Japanese 中

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese中middle, medium; average; neither good nor poor;...
2Japanese中今the present, as a privileged moment in eternity
3Japanese今now; just now; soon
Every word from Middle Chinese 幸 →Every word from Japanese 幸 →Every word from Japanese sakiwai →