Where does “出鼻をくじく” come from?

出鼻をくじく (Japanese) comes from Japanese を, from Proto-Japonic wo — accusative marker; away from, off.

出鼻をくじく (Japanese): to spoil someone's start; to kill someone's enthusiasm; to take the wind out of someone's sails

Definitions

  1. to spoil someone's start; to kill someone's enthusiasm; to take the wind out of someone's sails

Ancestry of “出鼻をくじく”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1JapaneseをA case particle; A conjunctive particle, usually...
2Proto-Japonicwoaccusative marker; away from, off
Every word from Proto-Japonic wo →Every word from Japanese を →