Where does “白人” come from?

白人 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 人, from Proto-Japonic *pitə — one.

白人 (Japanese): a white person

Definitions

  1. a white person

Ancestry of “白人”, step by step

白人 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 人

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese人a person, human; an individual; mankind, people
2Proto-Japonic*pitəone

via Japanese 白

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese白the color white; innocence; a white go stone
2Middle Chinese白—
Every word from Proto-Japonic *pitə →Every word from Japanese 人 →
白人 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer