Where does “午前” come from?

午前 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 午, from Japanese 馬, from Middle Chinese 馬.

午前 (Japanese): forenoon, AM

Definitions

  1. forenoon, AM

Ancestry of “午前”, step by step

午前 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 午

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese午noon; the {{w|Ox |Chinese zodiac Ox}}
2Japanese馬a horse; a promoted bishop; a sawhorse: a...
3Middle Chinese馬—

via Japanese 前

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese前the front; the past; previous
2Middle Chinese前—
Every word from Middle Chinese 馬 →Every word from Japanese 馬 →Every word from Japanese 午 →