Where does “日の下” come from?

日の下 (Japanese) comes from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

日の下 (Japanese): under the sun

Definitions

  1. under the sun

Ancestry of “日の下”, step by step

日の下 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese の

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseのgenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
2Old Japaneseのplain, field
3Middle Chinese能talent, ability

via Japanese 日

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese日Sunday
2Old Japanese日the sun; sunlight, sunshine; daytime, daylight
3Proto-Japonic*piday, sun

via Japanese 下

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese下the below; the lower portion, end; low in degree...
2Middle Chinese下—
Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →
日の下 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer