Where does “汽船” come from?

汽船 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 船, from Old Japanese ふね, from Proto-Japonic punay — boat.

汽船 (Japanese): steamship

Definitions

  1. steamship

Ancestry of “汽船”, step by step

汽船 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 船

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese船ship, vessel, larger ship
2Old Japaneseふね—
3Proto-Japonicpunayboat

via Japanese 汽

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese汽steam
Every word from Proto-Japonic punay →Every word from Old Japanese ふね →Every word from Japanese 船 →
汽船 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer