Where does the な used in な-adjectives come from?


な-adjectives are derived from nouns. This is similar to how の can be used to
'Adjective-ize' a noun. But while it's clear how の-adjectives work, and why
the の is appended, what is the story for な-adjectives? How are they derived?
Why is the な appended?




_(I was surprised to see that I cannot find another thread that discusses
this. Perhaps my search-fu is weak...)_

The な used for adjectives has a clear historical derivation. This started as
に, the adverbial particle, + あり, the classical terminal (sentence-ending) form
of modern ある. に + あり then contracted to なり for the terminal form. If a な
adjective came at the end of a sentence, in classical Japanese, it would end
with なり, as in 山は静かなり。 You might still encounter this form from time to time
in poetry.

Classical terminal あり had an attributive form (when modifying another noun) of
ある. So に + ある contracted to なる, as in 静かなる山. Again, this form still appears in
poetry, especially if the author is trying to evoke an old-fashioned or
traditional feel.

As time passed, the なり terminal form disappeared, replaced with the modern
だ・です, and the なる attributive form contracted even further into just な.




_(I was surprised to see that I cannot find another thread that discusses
this. Perhaps my search-fu is weak...)_

The な used for adjectives has a clear historical derivation. This started as
に, the adverbial particle, + あり, the classical terminal (sentence-ending) form
of modern ある. に + あり then contracted to なり for the terminal form. If a な
adjective came at the end of a sentence, in classical Japanese, it would end
with なり, as in 山は静かなり。 You might still encounter this form from time to time
in poetry.

Classical terminal あり had an attributive form (when modifying another noun) of
ある. So に + ある contracted to なる, as in 静かなる山. Again, this form still appears in
poetry, especially if the author is trying to evoke an old-fashioned or
traditional feel.

As time passed, the なり terminal form disappeared, replaced with the modern
だ・です, and the なる attributive form contracted even further into just な.

