köken: Probably related to Zinke (“point, prong”), from Old High German zint (“a jag, point”), from Proto-West Germanic *tind, from Proto-Germanic *tinduz, *tindaz (“prong, pinnacle”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)dont- (“tooth, projection”). Cognate with Dutch tinne (“battlement”), German Zinne (“pinnacle, battlement”), Danish tinde (“pinnacle, battlement”), Swedish tinne (“tooth of a rake”), Icelandic…
köken: First appears in Japanese in the 1713 edition of the 和漢三才図会 (Wakan Sansai Zue, “Illustrated Sino-Japanese Encyclopedia”). Appears to be a Japanese coinage as 亜 (a, “next, sub-”) + 鉛 (en, “lead”, the metal), probably from the way that zinc is often found together with lead in ores. Probably influenced by early Hokkien 倭鉛 /倭铅 (e-iân), early Mandarin 倭鉛 /倭铅 (wōqiān, literally “Japanese lead”).
köken: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-ónts Proto-Indo-European *h₃dóntsder. Proto-Germanic *tindaz Old High German zint? Old High German zinko Middle High German zinke German Zinke? German Zinkbor. Polish cynk Borrowed from German Zink. Doublet of cynek.
köken: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- Proto-Indo-European *-ónts Proto-Indo-European *h₃dóntsder. Proto-Germanic *tindaz Old High German zint? Old High German zinko Middle High German zinke German Zinke? German Zinkbor. Latin zincum Borrowed from German Zink.