The word "Min-do" first appeared in newspapers around 1888, but a clear etymology of the word has never appeared.
This paper traces back the history of the word's formation and proposes the possibility that this word is a Japanese-created Chinese word influenced by Western thought.
This paper also considers the reception of this word in China and researches its mutual relationship with "kokumin-teido (国民程度)" (the condeition of the people) in China during the first two decades of the 20th century.
