Where does “夜鳴き鶯” come from?
夜鳴き鶯 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 夜, from Old Japanese よる, from Proto-Japonic yoru, from Proto-Japonic yo — night.
Ancestry of “夜鳴き鶯”, step by step
夜鳴き鶯 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 夜
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 夜 | night, evening |
| 2 | Old Japanese | よる | — |
| 3 | Proto-Japonic | yoru | night |
| 4 | Proto-Japonic | yo | night |
via Japanese 鶯
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 鶯 | Japanese bush warbler (Horornis diphone); Japanese nightingale |
| 2 | Japanese | す | to do; 巣 nest, hive, den; 酢 vinegar |
| 3 | Old Japanese | す | to do; to happen, occur; to be in a state of... |
| 4 | Proto-Japonic | *su | nest |
via Japanese 鳴く
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 鳴く | to call, to make noise; e.g., a bird's singing |