Where does “母語” come from?

母語 (Japanese) comes from German Ursprache, from German ur-, from Middle High German ur-, from Old High German ur-, from Proto-West Germanic uʀ-, from Proto-Germanic uz-, from Proto-Indo-European uss-, from Proto-Indo-European uds- — out, outward.

母語 (Japanese): a first language, a mother tongue, a native...

Definitions

  1. a first language, a mother tongue, a native...

Ancestry of “母語”, step by step

母語 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Ursprache

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanUrspracheproto-language; original language
2Germanur-ur-; great-; very
3Middle High Germanur-
4Old High Germanur-thoroughly
5Proto-West Germanicuʀ-out, over; off, away
6Proto-Germanicuz-up, out
7Proto-Indo-Europeanuss-
8Proto-Indo-Europeanuds-up, out
9Proto-Indo-Europeanúdout, outward

via English mother tongue

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishmother tongueThe language one first learned; the language one...
2Middle Englishmother tonge
Every word from Proto-Indo-European údEvery word from Proto-Indo-European uds-Every word from Proto-Indo-European uss-