Where does “初音” come from?

初音 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 初, from Middle Chinese 初.

初音 (Japanese): the cry of an animal that signals the beginning of a season

Definitions

  1. the cry of an animal that signals the beginning of a season

Ancestry of “初音”, step by step

初音 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 初

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese初the first..., initial..., new.; a first, start, a...
2Middle Chinese初—

via Japanese 音

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese音sound
2Middle Chinese音—
Every word from Middle Chinese 初 →Every word from Japanese 初 →