Where does “例の” come from?

例の (Japanese) comes from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

例の (Japanese): the usual, the aforementioned, you-know-who

Definitions

  1. the usual, the aforementioned, you-know-who

Ancestry of “例の”, step by step

例の traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesegenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
2Old Japaneseplain, field
3Middle Chinesetalent, ability

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese例; 例し; The most common reading is れい
Every word from Middle Chinese Every word from Old Japanese Every word from Japanese
例の — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer