Where does “葉切蟻” come from?

葉切蟻 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 蟻, from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

葉切蟻 (Japanese): leafcutter ant

Definitions

  1. leafcutter ant

Ancestry of “葉切蟻”, step by step

葉切蟻 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 蟻

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese蟻ant; an ant, particularly one without wings; an...
2Japaneseのgenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
3Old Japaneseのplain, field
4Middle Chinese能talent, ability

via Japanese 葉切

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese葉切—
Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →