expression
needless to say; it goes without saying
Archaic expression meaning 'it is needless to say' or 'it goes without saying'. Not used in modern Japanese; equivalent to modern 言うまでもない.
古典では「言うにや及ぶ」と記され、言うまでもない意を表した。
In classical texts, '言うにや及ぶ' was written to mean 'it goes without saying'.
Modern equivalent meaning 'needless to say'; 言うにや及ぶ is its archaic counterpart.
Archaic fixed expression composed of 言う (to say), the particle に, the archaic interrogative/emphatic particle や, and 及ぶ (to reach, to extend). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it functions as a set phrase meaning 'it is needless to say'.