Where does “化石燃料” come from?

化石燃料 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 化石, from Japanese 石, from Middle Chinese 石.

化石燃料 (Japanese): fossil fuel

Definitions

  1. fossil fuel

Ancestry of “化石燃料”, step by step

化石燃料 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 化石

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese化石a fossil; petrifaction; out-of-date person, thing
2Japanese石a stone; a transistor; a traditional Japanese...
3Middle Chinese石—

via Japanese 燃料

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese燃料fuel
Every word from Middle Chinese 石 →Every word from Japanese 石 →Every word from Japanese 化石 →