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English word origin

Etymology of Japon

Possibly from New Latin Iapō̆nia or French Japon or Cantonese 日本 (jat⁶ bun²).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

Obsolete form of Japan.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly from New Latin Iapō̆nia or French Japon or Cantonese 日本 (jat⁶ bun²).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionJaponfr
  • Borrowed-form mention日本yue
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-new",
        "3": "Iapō̆nia"
      },
      "expansion": "New Latin Iapō̆nia"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "Japon"
      },
      "expansion": "French Japon"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yue",
        "3": "日本"
      },
      "expansion": "Cantonese 日本 (jat⁶ bun²)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Iapō̆nia",
      "Iaponia#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Japon",
      "Japon#French"
    ],
    [
      "日本",
      "日本#Cantonese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete form of Japan."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "31f02c98af4933749073e3245089a8dec0a02186310910858391a0cb330a0756",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d3e445e436389ac3027650da1d850447e107fef0a43852ca0f487ab210f8c7b6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 289954
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Japon →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-SmFwb24