Where does “魔物” come from?

魔物 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 物, from Japanese 物言い, from Japanese 物言う — to talk.

魔物 (Japanese): an evil spirit, a monster, an apparition, a demon

Definitions

  1. an evil spirit, a monster, an apparition, a demon

Ancestry of “魔物”, step by step

魔物 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 物

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese物thing; story, genre
2Japanese物言いa way of speaking, wording
3Japanese物言うto talk

via Japanese 魔

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese魔devil, demon; supernatural; evil
2Middle Chinese魔—
Every word from Japanese 物言う →Every word from Japanese 物言い →Every word from Japanese 物 →
魔物 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer