Where does “最少” come from?

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

最少 (Japanese): small; little; few

Definitions

  1. small; little; few

Ancestry of “最少”, step by step

最少 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 最

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

via Japanese 少

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese少few; junior, lower
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sai- →Every word from Japanese 最 →