Where does “公用語” come from?

公用語 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 語, from Chinese 語.

公用語 (Japanese): official language or languages

Definitions

  1. official language or languages

Ancestry of “公用語”, step by step

公用語 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesea word, term; a proverb; language of, -ese, -ish
2Chinese

via Japanese 公用

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese公用for government use; for public use; government...
Every word from Chinese Every word from Japanese
公用語 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer