Where does “心を鬼にする” come from?

心を鬼にする (Japanese) comes from Japanese する, from Old Japanese す, from Proto-Japonic *su — nest.

心を鬼にする (Japanese): to harden someone's heart despite feelings of pity

Definitions

  1. to harden someone's heart despite feelings of pity

Ancestry of “心を鬼にする”, step by step

心を鬼にする traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese する

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseするto exist; to come up; to exist; to be worth; to...
2Old Japaneseすto do; to happen, occur; to be in a state of...
3Proto-Japonic*sunest

via Japanese 心

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese心mind, heart, spirit, soul; thoughts, ideas;...
2Old Japanese心heart, mind, spirit; emotion, feeling; heart,...
3Proto-Japonic*kəkərəheart

via Japanese 鬼

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese鬼ghost; evil spirit, demon, ogre; someone of...
2Japanese隠to hide; hidden from sight; hidden
3Middle Chinese隱—
Every word from Proto-Japonic *su →Every word from Old Japanese す →Every word from Japanese する →