Where does “青酸カリ” come from?

青酸カリ (Japanese) comes from Japanese カリウム, from New Latin kalium, from German Kalium, from German Kali, from Arabic قِلْي.

Ancestry of “青酸カリ”, step by step

青酸カリ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese カリウム

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseカリウムpotassium
2New Latinkaliumpotassium
3GermanKaliumpotassium
4GermanKalipotash
5Arabicقِلْي—

via Japanese 青酸

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese青酸prussic acid
2Japanese酸sourness; acid; Alternative spelling of 酢
3Middle Chinese酸—
Every word from Arabic قِلْي →Every word from German Kali →Every word from German Kalium →