daimyo

Where does the word "daimyo" come from? It comes from Japanese daimyō, and was adopted directly into English (1800s).

Daimyo’s story begins in Japanese: daimyō meant “a powerful feudal lord.” Literally 'great name', a title for feudal lords who ruled large domains. It reached English by 1800s as daimyo. First recorded in 1839 in the 'Penny Cyclopaedia'; the Meiji government abolished the domains of the daimyo in 1871. Today, daimyo means a powerful territorial lord of feudal Japan, subordinate to the shogun.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval daimyō "a powerful feudal lord", literally 'great name', a title for feudal lords who ruled large domains.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1800s daimyo "a Japanese feudal lord ruling under the shogunate", first recorded in 1839 in the 'Penny Cyclopaedia'; the Meiji government abolished the domains of the daimyo in 1871.