Where does “淡水” come from?

淡水 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 水, from Old Japanese 水, from Proto-Japonic *mentu — water.

淡水 (Japanese): fresh water

Definitions

  1. fresh water

Ancestry of “淡水”, step by step

淡水 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 水

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese水water; drinking water; a fluid, liquid
2Old Japanese水water
3Proto-Japonic*mentuwater

via Japanese 淡

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese淡tan, 淡い: "awai", tasteless
Every word from Proto-Japonic *mentu →Every word from Old Japanese 水 →Every word from Japanese 水 →