Where does “足下” come from?

足下 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 元, from Japanese 始め, from Japanese 始める — begin; start; initiate; originate.

足下 (Japanese): at one's feet, underfoot, the ground; the bottom...

Definitions

  1. at one's feet, underfoot, the ground; the bottom...

Ancestry of “足下”, step by step

足下 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 元

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese元cause, origin; basis, foundation; cost
2Japanese始めbeginning, the start of an activity or time...
3Japanese始めるbegin; start; initiate; originate

via Japanese 足

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese足foot; 脚 leg
2Old Japanese足—

via Middle Chinese 足下

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Chinese足下—
Every word from Japanese 始める →Every word from Japanese 始め →Every word from Japanese 元 →