1580s, Iapones; see Japan + -ese. As a noun from c. 1600; meaning "the Japanese language" is from 1828. As nouns Purchas has Iaponite (1613), Hakluyt Japonian. The destructive Japanese beetle attested from 1919, accidentally introduced in U.S. 1916 in larval stage in a shipment of Japanese iris.

"unidiomatic English in Japan," 1960, from Japanese + English.

colloquial abbreviation of Japanese, 1877, perhaps encouraged or inspired by the common abbreviation Jap.; it was not originally pejorative, but it became intensely so during World War II. It was protested by Japanese before the war, but did not begin to be taboo in the U.S. before 1960s. As an adjective from 1878. For some years after World War II in American English the word also functioned as a verb, "to execute a sneak attack upon," a reference to Pearl Harbor.

type of Japanese poem, 1877, from Japanese tanka, from tan "short" + ka "song."

Japanese floor-mat, 1610s, from Japanese tatami.

Japanese fermented liquor made from rice, 1680s, from Japanese sake, literally "alcohol."

form of Japanese poetry, 1901, from name of Karai Senryu (1718-90), Japanese poet.

Japanese art of folding paper into intricate designs, 1956, from Japanese origami, from ori "fold" + kami "paper."

Japanese monetary unit, 1875, from Japanese yen, from Chinese yuan "round, round object, circle, dollar."

cursive form of Japanese writing, 1822, from Japanese hiragana, from hira "plain" + kana "borrowed letter(s)."