Where does “相撲” come from?

相撲 (Japanese) comes from Old Japanese 争ふ — to contend, resist.

相撲 (Japanese): sumo Japanese traditional wrestling

Definitions

  1. sumo Japanese traditional wrestling

Ancestry of “相撲”, step by step

相撲 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Japanese 争ふ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Japanese争ふto contend, resist

via Middle Chinese 相撲

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Chinese相撲—

Words derived from “相撲”

Every word from Old Japanese 争ふ →