Where does “行方不明” come from?

行方不明 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 行方, from Japanese 行く, from Proto-Japonic eku, from French écu, from Old French escut, from Latin scūtum, from Proto-Indo-European skei-, from Proto-Indo-European sek- — to cut, cut off, sever.

行方不明 (Japanese): whereabouts unknown, unaccounted for, missing, lost

Definitions

  1. whereabouts unknown, unaccounted for, missing, lost

Ancestry of “行方不明”, step by step

行方不明 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 行方

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese行方one's whereabouts, direction or destination;...
2Japanese行くto go; to come to one's place; to be delivered;...
3Proto-Japonicekuhow many
4Frenchécushield; écu
5Old Frenchescutshield
6Latinscūtuma type of shield: the scutum, the large oblong wooden shield carried by the Roman infantry
7Proto-Indo-Europeanskei-to cut, to divide, to separate; to cut, split; to...
8Proto-Indo-Europeansek-to cut, cut off, sever

via Japanese 不明

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese不明unknown
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sek-Every word from Proto-Indo-European skei-Every word from Latin scūtum