Where does “五段活用” come from?

五段活用 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 活用 — application; inflection; to utilize.

五段活用 (Japanese): a verbal conjugation class consisting of five...

Definitions

  1. a verbal conjugation class consisting of five...

Ancestry of “五段活用”, step by step

五段活用 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 活用

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese活用application; inflection; to utilize

via Japanese 五段

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese五段pentagrade conjugation
Every word from Japanese 活用