Where does “大相撲” come from?

大相撲 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 大, from Old Japanese 大, from Proto-Japonic əpə — big, large; many.

大相撲 (Japanese): a grand sumo wrestling tournament

Definitions

  1. a grand sumo wrestling tournament

Ancestry of “大相撲”, step by step

大相撲 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesebig, large; the large part of; arch-
2Old Japanesebig, large; large
3Proto-Japonicəpəbig, large; many

via Japanese 相撲

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese相撲sumo Japanese traditional wrestling
2Old Japanese争ふto contend, resist

Words derived from “大相撲

Every word from Proto-Japonic əpəEvery word from Old Japanese Every word from Japanese
大相撲 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer