Where does “唐人” come from?
唐人 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 唐, from Japanese 伽羅, from Sanskrit कालागुरु.
唐人 (Japanese): a Chinese person; a foreigner
Definitions
- a Chinese person; a foreigner
Ancestry of “唐人”, step by step
唐人 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 唐
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 唐 | foreign lands in general; element in compounds,... |
| 2 | Japanese | 伽羅 | the Gaya confederacy: a grouping of smaller states on the southern end of the Korean peninsula, roughly dating to 42-532 |
| 3 | Sanskrit | कालागुरु | — |
via Japanese 人
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 人 | a person, human; an individual; mankind, people |
| 2 | Proto-Japonic | *pitə | one |