Talk:米國
Latest comment: 1 year ago by RcAlex36 in topic Wasei kango?
Wasei kango?[edit]
@Eirikr Hi, may I ask when was the earliest attestation of 米国 in Japanese? Because 米國 is attested in Chinese as early as 1846. RcAlex36 (talk) 15:17, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
- @RcAlex36: Well, that was a fine rabbit hole. 😄 Substantially expanded.
- Looks like the term itself is attested in Japanese since at least 1603, but the "America" sense doesn't appear until the mid-1800s, with the first explicit cite of the 米國 spelling in 1869 -- although the 米 ↔ "US" association appears from at least 1854, possibly earlier.
- If the 1846 Chinese attestation is in reference specifically to the US, I suspect that that is the ultimate source. Can you describe at all how the Chinese term was used originally? ‑‑ Eiríkr Útlendi │Tala við mig 00:10, 23 December 2022 (UTC)
- Looks like it's from an edited version of a 1846 book called 海國四說. I'm not certain about the publication date of that version. 米國 may thus be wasei kango. RcAlex36 (talk) 05:09, 24 December 2022 (UTC)