Where does “手長猿” come from?

手長猿 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 手, from Middle Chinese 手.

手長猿 (Japanese): gibbon

Definitions

  1. gibbon

Ancestry of “手長猿”, step by step

手長猿 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 手

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese手a hand; a handle, grip; a paw, foreleg
2Middle Chinese手—

via Japanese 猿

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese猿a monkey; Short for 日本猿; an ape
2Chinese猿ape

via Japanese 長

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese長chief, head, leader; strong point; major
2Middle Chinese長—

Words derived from “手長猿”

Every word from Middle Chinese 手 →Every word from Japanese 手 →