Where does “十二時” come from?

十二時 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 時, from Old Japanese 時, from Old Japanese しだ — a time, circumstance, occasion.

十二時 (Japanese): twelve o'clock; noon; midnight

Definitions

  1. twelve o'clock; noon; midnight

Ancestry of “十二時”, step by step

十二時 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 時

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese時time; an event, case, occasion, moment; a...
2Old Japanese時a time, moment (in time), occasion
3Old Japaneseしだa time, circumstance, occasion

via Japanese 十二

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese十二twelve; 12
Every word from Old Japanese しだ →Every word from Old Japanese 時 →Every word from Japanese 時 →