Where does “千鳥” come from?

千鳥 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 千, from Middle Chinese 千, from Old Chinese 千.

千鳥 (Japanese): numerous birds

Definitions

  1. numerous birds

Ancestry of “千鳥”, step by step

千鳥 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 千

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese千a thousand, 1000
2Middle Chinese千—
3Old Chinese千—

via Japanese 鳥

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese鳥a bird; a chicken; fowl or chicken meat
Every word from Old Chinese 千 →Every word from Middle Chinese 千 →Every word from Japanese 千 →