Where does “약” come from?

약 (Korean) comes from Japanese 役, from Middle Chinese 役.

약 (Korean): drug; medicine; approximately; about; an ancient...

Definitions

  1. drug; medicine; approximately; about; an ancient...

Ancestry of “약”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese役role, service, use; hand, scoring combination;...
2Middle Chinese役—

Words derived from “약”

Every word from Middle Chinese 役 →Every word from Japanese 役 →