Where does “蟻地獄” come from?

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

蟻地獄 (Japanese): an antlion larva; a sand pit trap dug by an...

Definitions

  1. an antlion larva; a sand pit trap dug by an...

Ancestry of “蟻地獄”, step by step

蟻地獄 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 地獄

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese地獄hell
2Middle Chinese地獄—
Every word from Middle Chinese 能 →Every word from Old Japanese の →Every word from Japanese の →