Where does “最下位” come from?

最下位 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 最, from Proto-Indo-European sai-.

最下位 (Japanese): lowest rank; bottom; least significant

Definitions

  1. lowest rank; bottom; least significant

Ancestry of “最下位”, step by step

最下位 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 最

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese最most, greatest
2Proto-Indo-Europeansai-—

via Japanese 下位

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese下位being at a lower position, a lower location
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sai- →Every word from Japanese 最 →