Where does “偶爾” come from?

偶爾 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 爾, from Old Japanese おれ.

偶爾 (Japanese): By accident; by chance

Definitions

  1. By accident; by chance

Ancestry of “偶爾”, step by step

偶爾 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 爾

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese爾second person pronoun: you
2Old Japaneseおれ—

via Japanese 偶

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese偶occasional; rarity; unexpectedly, by chance;...
Every word from Old Japanese おれ →Every word from Japanese 爾 →