Where does “汗をかく” come from?

汗をかく (Japanese) comes from Japanese を, from Proto-Japonic wo — accusative marker; away from, off.

汗をかく (Japanese): to sweat

Definitions

  1. to sweat

Ancestry of “汗をかく”, step by step

汗をかく traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese を

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1JapaneseをA case particle; A conjunctive particle, usually...
2Proto-Japonicwoaccusative marker; away from, off

via Japanese 汗

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese汗sweat
2Middle Chineseかん—

via Japanese 掻く

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese掻くto scratch; Dummy verb for various nouns
2Proto-TurkicKAk-to hit, knock, tear
Every word from Proto-Japonic wo →Every word from Japanese を →