Where does “口を利く” come from?

口を利く (Japanese) comes from Japanese 口, from Japanese くち, from Japanese 朽ちる.

口を利く (Japanese): to speak

Definitions

  1. to speak

Ancestry of “口を利く”, step by step

口を利く traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 口

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese口mouth; opening; the mouth
2Japaneseくちmouth
3Japanese朽ちる—

via Japanese を

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

via Japanese 利く

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese利く—
Every word from Japanese 朽ちる →Every word from Japanese くち →Every word from Japanese 口 →