Where does “知恵の輪” come from?

知恵の輪 (Japanese) comes from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

知恵の輪 (Japanese): puzzle ring; wire puzzle; disentanglement puzzle

Definitions

  1. puzzle ring; wire puzzle; disentanglement puzzle

Ancestry of “知恵の輪”, step by step

知恵の輪 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese の

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseのgenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
2Old Japaneseのplain, field
3Middle Chinese能talent, ability

via Japanese 輪

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese輪ring; circle
2Japanese腕輪bracelet
3Japanese腕arm; ability; skill; talent

via Japanese 知恵

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese知恵wisdom, intelligence
Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →