Where does “本塁打” come from?

本塁打 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 本塁, from Japanese 塁, from Middle Chinese 壘.

本塁打 (Japanese): a home run

Definitions

  1. a home run

Ancestry of “本塁打”, step by step

本塁打 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 本塁

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese本塁home base
2Japanese塁base
3Middle Chinese壘—

via Japanese 打

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese打hit
Every word from Middle Chinese 壘 →Every word from Japanese 塁 →Every word from Japanese 本塁 →