Where does “中国” come from?
中国 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 国, from Japanese 大国主, from Japanese 大, from Old Japanese 大, from Proto-Japonic əpə — big, large; many.
中国 (Japanese): the central part of a country, historically,...
Definitions
- the central part of a country, historically,...
Ancestry of “中国”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 国 | a land, a large place; a country in general, a... |
| 2 | Japanese | 大国主 | — |
| 3 | Japanese | 大 | big, large; the large part of; arch- |
| 4 | Old Japanese | 大 | big, large; large |
| 5 | Proto-Japonic | əpə | big, large; many |