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From Proto-Sino-Tibetan*r/g-wa(“village”) (STEDT). Cognate with 丘 (OC *kʰʷɯ) "hill, mound" & 街 (OC *kreː, *kreː) "road crossing, street"; outsides Sinitic, cognate with Mizokhua(“village”), Laikhûa(“village, cosmos”), Burmeseရွာ(rwa, “village”); Schuessler (2007) also proposes cognacy with Tibetanར་བ(ra ba, “fence, enclosure, wall, pen”) by pointing to a semantic parallel between Englishtown and GermanZaun(“fence”).
Alternatively, possibly related to 理 (lǐ) "to divide into equal sections", yet Schuessler also noted that early Chinese villages were not systematically planned and platted.
Ultimately derivation unknown. Theories include a compound of either 小(sa-, “short”) or 狭(sa-, “narrow”) + 所(to, “place”) or 戸(to, “door”). Other theories have been suggested but are unlikely.
Various nanori readings. Perhaps the satoshi reading is from 聡い(satoi, “clever”, from earlier satoshi), while the zato is a voiced rendaku (連濁) version of sato above. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
↑ 1.01.1“さと 【里・郷】”, in 日本国語大辞典(Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
^ Omodaka, Hisataka (1967) 時代別国語大辞典 上代編 [The dictionary of historical Japanese: Old Japanese] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN, pages 333-334
Unknown. Theories include a compound of either 小(sa-, “short”) or 狭(sa-, “narrow”) + 所(to1 or to2, “place”) or 戸(to1, “door”). Other theories have been suggested but are unlikely.
^ “さと 【里・郷】”, in 日本国語大辞典(Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here (Note: Dialectal meanings, etymological theories, pronunciation including modern, dialectal, and historical information, Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai, historical dictionaries containing this word, and the kanji spellings in those dictionaries have been omitted.)
^ Omodaka, Hisataka (1967) 時代別国語大辞典 上代編 [The dictionary of historical Japanese: Old Japanese] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN, pages 333-334