Where does “世の中” come from?

世の中 (Japanese) comes from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

世の中 (Japanese): the society made of living people of the world

Definitions

  1. the society made of living people of the world

Ancestry of “世の中”, step by step

世の中 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

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

via Japanese 世

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese世world, society; this world, this life;...
2Middle Chinese世—
Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →