Where does “絵に描いた餅” come from?
絵に描いた餅 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 描く, from Japanese 書く, from Proto-Japonic kaku, from Kapampangan aku, from Proto-Philippine *aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian aku, from Proto-Austronesian aku.
絵に描いた餅 (Japanese): pie in the sky, castle in the air; a useless thing or idea
Definitions
- pie in the sky, castle in the air; a useless thing or idea
Ancestry of “絵に描いた餅”, step by step
絵に描いた餅 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 描く
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 描く | to paint; to draw; to picture; to portray; to... |
| 2 | Japanese | 書く | to write; to record (words, figures) on the surface of (something) |
| 3 | Proto-Japonic | kaku | to scratch; to write |
| 4 | Kapampangan | aku | I; me; my |
| 5 | Proto-Philippine | *aku | — |
| 6 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | aku | — |
| 7 | Proto-Austronesian | aku | — |
via Japanese 餅
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 餅 | mochi; mochi filled or wrapped in red bean paste |