Where does “胸に手を当てる” come from?

胸に手を当てる (Japanese) comes from Japanese 胸, from Japanese い, from Japanese や, from Japanese じゃ, from Japanese である, from Japanese で, from Japanese ぜ, from Japanese ぞえ.

胸に手を当てる (Japanese): to self-reflect, to give a serious thought

Definitions

  1. to self-reflect, to give a serious thought

Ancestry of “胸に手を当てる”, step by step

胸に手を当てる traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 胸

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese胸chest, breast; heart, inner thoughts; bosom,...
2JapaneseいUsed in compounds with certain sentence-ending...
3Japaneseやand/or; is, are; Alternative form of いや
4Japaneseじゃso, then—used for connecting to a reasonable...
5JapaneseであるTo be: the copula, with the same function as だ and its polite form です
6Japaneseでat; with, by, using; indicating the following...
7Japaneseぜsentence-ending particle signifying emphasis,...
8Japaneseぞえ­ sentence-ending particle signifying emphasis, used to lightly press one's point, with affectionate overtones
9JapaneseえAlternative form of い
10Middle Chinese衣—

via Japanese 手

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese手a hand; a handle, grip; a paw, foreleg
2Middle Chinese手—

via Japanese を

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1JapaneseをA case particle; A conjunctive particle, usually...
2Proto-Japonicwoaccusative marker; away from, off
Every word from Middle Chinese 衣 →Every word from Japanese え →Every word from Japanese ぞえ →