Where does “大リーグ” come from?

大リーグ (Japanese) comes from Japanese リーグ, from English League, from Middle English lege, from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege, from Vulgar Latin levius, from Latin lēvis, from Proto-Italic leɣʷis — light.

大リーグ (Japanese): Major League Baseball

Definitions

  1. Major League Baseball

Ancestry of “大リーグ”, step by step

大リーグ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese リーグ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseリーグleague
2EnglishLeagueA group or association of cooperating members
3Middle Englishlegeleague; one's subjects or vassals; those under...
4Anglo-Normanligeliege; liegeman; vassal
5Old Frenchliegeliege, servant; liege, free
6Vulgar Latinleviuscomparative degree of leviter
7Latinlēvislight, not heavy
8Proto-Italicleɣʷislight
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁léngʰuslightweight
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lengʷʰ-light

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesebig, large; the large part of; arch-
2Old Japanesebig, large; large
3Proto-Japonicəpəbig, large; many
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁léngʰusEvery word from Proto-Italic leɣʷis