Where does “亜種” come from?

亜種 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 種, from Proto-Japonic tanay — seed.

亜種 (Japanese): a subspecies

Definitions

  1. a subspecies

Ancestry of “亜種”, step by step

亜種 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 種

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese種a seed; a pit or stone in a fruit; a gamete
2Proto-Japonictanayseed

via Japanese 亜

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese亜"indicates a lower oxidation number": -ous
2Middle Chinese亞—
Every word from Proto-Japonic tanay →Every word from Japanese 種 →