Where does “歯医者” come from?

歯医者 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 歯, from Middle Chinese 齒.

歯医者 (Japanese): dentist

Definitions

  1. dentist

Ancestry of “歯医者”, step by step

歯医者 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 歯

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese歯tooth; age
2Middle Chinese齒—

via Japanese 医者

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese医者doctor
2Chinese醫者doctor; medical practitioner; one who heals
Every word from Middle Chinese 齒 →Every word from Japanese 歯 →