How did 冷やかし come to mean "window-shopping"? I'm curious how `` came to mean things such as `` and ``. Here's what I can figure out: * `hiya` seems to be a root meaning "cold" (like in `hiya-ya-ka`) * `hiya-k-u` is an old verb based on this root ("to become cold") * `hiya-k-as-u` is the same verb plus a causative affix ("to make cold") * `hiya-k-as-i` is a noun derived from the of this verb So it seems that "to make cold" is the literal meaning of the verb, and it can still be written with the kanji ``. However, it doesn't appear that the noun `` retains this literal meaning--at least, I don't see it anywhere in : > ** 0 ** > > * * * > > 1. > > **―** > > 2. () > > **―** > > 3. > > I suppose these three senses are probably related to the literal meaning, but I can't see the connection. How did the meaning go from "make cold" to "window shopping"?

According to , comes from the verb , which in addition to the obvious ‘to cool’ has these meanings:

> (2)
>
> (3)
>
> (4)

Obviously, sense (3) is the one that the ‘window-shopping’ meaning of is derived from, and I suppose sense (2) is a special case of sense (3). On the topic of etymology, the dictionary says:

> (2)

Apparently, sense (2) comes from stories of the paper-makers in Asakusa “window-shopping” in Shin-Yoshiwara while the water for their paper-making cooled.