Where does “路面電車” come from?

路面電車 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 電車, from Japanese 電, from Middle Chinese 電.

路面電車 (Japanese): a tram UK, a streetcar/trolley US

Definitions

  1. a tram UK, a streetcar/trolley US

Ancestry of “路面電車”, step by step

路面電車 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 電車

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese電車an electric multiple unit train
2Japaneselightning
3Middle Chinese

via Japanese 路面

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese路面surface of the road
Every word from Middle Chinese Every word from Japanese Every word from Japanese 電車
路面電車 — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer