Where does “介錯” come from?

介錯 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 介, from Middle Chinese 介.

介錯 (Japanese): decapitation of someone who performs harakiri (in order to ease their pain)

Definitions

  1. decapitation of someone who performs harakiri (in order to ease their pain)

Ancestry of “介錯”, step by step

介錯 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 介

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese介to assist
2Middle Chinese介—

via Japanese 錯

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese錯—
Every word from Middle Chinese 介 →Every word from Japanese 介 →