Where does “蟻食” come from?
蟻食 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 蟻, from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.
蟻食 (Japanese): an anteater
Ancestry of “蟻食”, step by step
蟻食 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 蟻
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 蟻 | ant; an ant, particularly one without wings; an... |
| 2 | Japanese | の | genitive case marker; nominative case marker in a... |
| 3 | Old Japanese | の | plain, field |
| 4 | Middle Chinese | 能 | talent, ability |
via Japanese 食う
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 食う | to put something in one's mouth; to eat, to... |
| 2 | Old Japanese | くう | — |
| 3 | Middle Chinese | 偶 | — |