dojo

Where does the word "dojo" come from? It comes from Japanese do + jo, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Dojo’s story begins in Japanese: do + jo meant “a place of the way.” Combining "do" (way) and "jo" (place), originally a Buddhist training hall. It reached English by 1900s as dojo. Japanese 'place of the way', originally a hall for Buddhist meditation; first recorded in English in 1942 in the martial-arts writer Percy Longhurst. Today, dojo means a hall or space used for practicing martial arts.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval do + jo "a place of the way", combining "do" (way) and "jo" (place), originally a Buddhist training hall.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s dojo "a hall for practicing martial arts", Japanese 'place of the way', originally a hall for Buddhist meditation; first recorded in English in 1942 in the martial-arts writer Percy Longhurst.