Where does “変速レバー” come from?

変速レバー (Japanese) comes from Japanese レバー, from English lever, from French lever, from Middle French lever, from Old French lever, from Latin levō, from Latin lēvis, from Proto-Italic leɣʷis — light.

変速レバー (Japanese): gear lever, gear shift, gear stick

Definitions

  1. gear lever, gear shift, gear stick

Ancestry of “変速レバー”, step by step

変速レバー traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese レバー

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japaneseレバーliver as food
2EnglishleverA crowbar; A rigid piece which is capable of...
3FrenchleverTo raise, lift; To rise, stand up; To get up
4Middle Frenchleverto lift
5Old Frenchleverto lift; to get up
6Latinlevōto raise, elevate, lift up
7Latinlēvislight, not heavy
8Proto-Italicleɣʷislight
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁léngʰuslightweight
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lengʷʰ-light

via Japanese 変速

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese変速changing gears
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ-