Where does “貝合わせ” come from?

貝合わせ (Japanese) comes from Japanese 貝, from Old Japanese かい.

貝合わせ (Japanese): kai-awase a Heian period game involving matching two pieces of a clamshell

Definitions

  1. kai-awase a Heian period game involving matching two pieces of a clamshell

Ancestry of “貝合わせ”, step by step

貝合わせ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 貝

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese貝a shellfish
2Old Japaneseかい—

via Japanese 合わせ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese合わせjoining together
2Japanese合わせるput together; tune music, radio; add up to,...
Every word from Old Japanese かい →Every word from Japanese 貝 →