Where does “親指の爪” come from?

親指の爪 (Japanese) comes from Japanese の, from Old Japanese の, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.

親指の爪 (Japanese): thumbnail fingernail on the thumb

Definitions

  1. thumbnail fingernail on the thumb

Ancestry of “親指の爪”, step by step

親指の爪 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesegenitive case marker; nominative case marker in a...
2Old Japaneseplain, field
3Middle Chinesetalent, ability

via Japanese 親指

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese親指a thumb
2Japanesea parent; the originator or founder of a school,...
3Middle Chinese

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesenail; claw
Every word from Middle Chinese Every word from Old Japanese Every word from Japanese