Where does “tsunami” come from?
tsunami (Spanish) comes from English tsunami, from Japanese 津波, from Japanese 波, from Middle Chinese 波.
tsunami (Spanish): tsunami
Ancestry of “tsunami”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | tsunami | A very large and destructive wave, generally... |
| 2 | Japanese | 津波 | a tsunami; a tidal wave; a tidal bore |
| 3 | Japanese | 波 | wave |
| 4 | Middle Chinese | 波 | — |