Where does “体操” come from?

体操 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 操, from Japanese 御, from Middle Chinese 御.

体操 (Japanese): gymnastics, exercises; do gymnastics, exercise

Definitions

  1. gymnastics, exercises; do gymnastics, exercise

Ancestry of “体操”, step by step

体操 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 操

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese操control
2Japanese御"indicates that the is honorific"; often used to...
3Middle Chinese御—

via Japanese 体

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese体In general: the body, e.g. of a human or animal;...
2Middle Chinese體—

Words derived from “体操”

Every word from Middle Chinese 御 →Every word from Japanese 御 →Every word from Japanese 操 →