Where does “草の根” come from?

草の根 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 根, from Old Japanese 根.

草の根 (Japanese): grass roots

Definitions

  1. grass roots

Ancestry of “草の根”, step by step

草の根 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 根

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese根a root; the source; the root; nature; the...
2Old Japanese根—

via Japanese 草

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese草grass; a weed; a herb
2Middle Chinese草—

via English grass roots

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishgrass rootsPeople and society at the local (most basic) level rather than at the national centre of political activity
Every word from Old Japanese 根 →Every word from Japanese 根 →