Where does “最初” come from?

最初 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 初, from Middle Chinese 初.

最初 (Japanese): firstly; first, the beginning, the start

Definitions

  1. firstly; first, the beginning, the start

Ancestry of “最初”, step by step

最初 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 初

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese初the first..., initial..., new.; a first, start, a...
2Middle Chinese初—

via Japanese 最

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese最most, greatest
2Proto-Indo-Europeansai-—
Every word from Middle Chinese 初 →Every word from Japanese 初 →