Where does “日本刀” come from?
日本刀 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 日本, from Japanese 日, from Old Japanese 日, from Proto-Japonic *pi — day, sun.
日本刀 (Japanese): a Japanese sword
Ancestry of “日本刀”, step by step
日本刀 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 日本
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 日本 | {{l|en|Japan}}; Japan |
| 2 | Japanese | 日 | Sunday |
| 3 | Old Japanese | 日 | the sun; sunlight, sunshine; daytime, daylight |
| 4 | Proto-Japonic | *pi | day, sun |
via Japanese 刀
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 刀 | a single-edged sword, such as a katana; a small... |
| 2 | Japanese | な | used to get someone's attention, generally... |
| 3 | Japanese | ね | emphasis and question marker particle; asks for... |