Where does “天竺鼠” come from?

天竺鼠 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 天竺, from Middle Chinese 天竺, from Sanskrit हिन्दु, from Hindi हिंदू, from Persian هندو, from Middle Persian hndwk', from Middle Persian hnd, from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 — India; people living beyond the Indus.

天竺鼠 (Japanese): guinea pig

Definitions

  1. guinea pig

Ancestry of “天竺鼠”, step by step

天竺鼠 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 天竺

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese天竺foreign or exotic; overly spicy or hot; the sky,...
2Middle Chinese天竺
3Sanskritहिन्दुa Hindu
4HindiहिंदूA Hindu; Hindu
5Persianهندوa Hindu, a practitioner of India's indigenous...
6Middle Persianhndwk'an Indian
7Middle PersianhndIndia
8Old Persian𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁India; people living beyond the Indus

via Japanese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanesea mouse or a rat; general term for members of...
2Japanesenezumi
Every word from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁Every word from Middle Persian hndEvery word from Middle Persian hndwk'