Where does “只今” come from?

只今 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 今, from Japanese 中今, from Japanese 中, from Middle Chinese 中.

只今 (Japanese): presently, right away, right now, just now;...

Definitions

  1. presently, right away, right now, just now;...

Ancestry of “只今”, step by step

只今 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 今

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese今now; just now; soon
2Japanese中今the present, as a privileged moment in eternity
3Japanese中middle, medium; average; neither good nor poor;...
4Middle Chinese中—

via Japanese 只

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese只for free
Every word from Middle Chinese 中 →Every word from Japanese 今 →Every word from Japanese 中今 →