Where does “苦土素” come from?

苦土素 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 素, from Middle Chinese 素.

苦土素 (Japanese): magnesium, Mg

Definitions

  1. magnesium, Mg

Ancestry of “苦土素”, step by step

苦土素 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 素

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese素raw material; bare; element
2Middle Chinese素—

via Japanese 苦土

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese苦土magnesia, magnesium oxide
Every word from Middle Chinese 素 →Every word from Japanese 素 →