Where does “人目に付く” come from?

人目に付く (Japanese) comes from Japanese 人目, from Japanese 目, from Middle Chinese 目.

人目に付く (Japanese): to be within others' sight; to be visible; to be conspicuous; to attract public attention; to come under observation

Definitions

  1. to be within others' sight; to be visible; to be conspicuous; to attract public attention; to come under observation

Ancestry of “人目に付く”, step by step

人目に付く traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 人目

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese人目an attention, observation, public notice
2Japanesean order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger...
3Middle Chinese

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseparticle for indirect objects; to; particle for...
2Old Japanese

via Japanese 付く

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese付くattach itself to, stick, stick to, adhere, adhere...
Every word from Middle Chinese Every word from Japanese Every word from Japanese 人目
人目に付く — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer