Where does “美” come from?
美 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 的, from Ancient Greek -τικός, from Ancient Greek -σις, from Ancient Greek -τις, from Proto-Indo-European -tis — Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.
美 (Japanese): beauty; suffix used by female given names, such...
Definitions
- beauty; suffix used by female given names, such...
Ancestry of “美”, step by step
美 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 的
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 的 | -ive, -like, -ish, -ic, -ical, -y, kind of, sort... |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | -τικός | relating to, suited to, skilled in, able to,... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | -σις | Added to verb stems to form abstract nouns or... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |
via Middle Chinese 美
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Chinese | 美 | beautiful |