Where does “四時” come from?
四時 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 四, from Middle Chinese 四, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *pV-lij — four.
四時 (Japanese): four o'clock
Ancestry of “四時”, step by step
四時 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 四
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 四 | four, 4; the fourth |
| 2 | Middle Chinese | 四 | — |
| 3 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | *pV-lij | four |
via Japanese 時
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 時 | time; an event, case, occasion, moment; a... |
| 2 | Old Japanese | 時 | a time, moment (in time), occasion |
| 3 | Old Japanese | しだ | a time, circumstance, occasion |