Where does “小数” come from?

小数 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 数, from Middle Chinese 數, from Old Chinese 數.

小数 (Japanese): decimal fraction, decimal, fraction

Definitions

  1. decimal fraction, decimal, fraction

Ancestry of “小数”, step by step

小数 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 数

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese数number; amount; number; several
2Middle Chinese數—
3Old Chinese數—

via Japanese 小

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese小smallness; small size, small; Short for 小の月;...
2Old Japaneseささ—

Words derived from “小数”

Every word from Old Chinese 數 →Every word from Middle Chinese 數 →Every word from Japanese 数 →