Where does “一人” come from?

一人 (Old Japanese) comes from Old Japanese 一, from Proto-Japonic *pitə — one.

一人 (Old Japanese): one person

Definitions

  1. one person

Ancestry of “一人”, step by step

一人 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Japanese 一

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Japanese一—
2Proto-Japonic*pitəone

via Old Japanese 人

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Japanese人—
Every word from Proto-Japonic *pitə →Every word from Old Japanese 一 →
一人 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer