“蒸汽机”探源

在19世纪中后期,汉语中有关蒸汽机的名称有很多,但这些名称大部分使用时间并不长久,有的只是昙花一现。汉语中“蒸汽机”最早出现于1875年丁韪良编纂的《中西闻见录》。“蒸汽机”来自日语,不过在日本现在已经不太用了,然而,这个词在中国一直使用至今,而且成为标准术语。

Traceability of “zhengqiji”

There were many names of steam engines in Chinese in the middle and late 19th century,but most of these names were not used for a long time,and some were short-lived. The Chinese term “zhengqiji”(steam engine)is firstly recorded in William Alexander Parsons Martin’s Zhongxi wenjian lu(Scientific Magazine)in 1875.The term comes from Japanese,but it is no longer useful in Japan. However,the term has been used in China,and has become the standard term refer to this machine.