Where does “北半球” come from?

北半球 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 半球, from Japanese 球, from Middle Chinese 毬.

北半球 (Japanese): the Northern Hemisphere

Definitions

  1. the Northern Hemisphere

Ancestry of “北半球”, step by step

北半球 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 半球

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese半球a hemisphere
2Japanese球sphere, globe, orb; pitch; vacuum tube, valve
3Middle Chinese毬—

via Japanese 北

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese北north; the North; a northerly, north wind
2Chinese Mandarin北—
Every word from Middle Chinese 毬 →Every word from Japanese 球 →Every word from Japanese 半球 →