70318
I am curious about the etymological history of 万年筆{まんねんひつ}, whose actual
meaning is a fountain pen in Japanese.

If we separate the kanjis we have :

> 万{マン}: ten thousand
>
> 年{ネン}: years
>
> 筆{ヒツ}: brush

So, literally it means _a ten thousand years brush_ , isn't it ?

Why is it called that way ? Is it because this item made its appearance at
some point in History ten thousand years after another event ?
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2019-08-24T18:26:12.660
70315
2019-08-24T19:28:39.197
29500
question
words etymology
Why is a fountain pen called 万年筆?
百, 千, and 万(萬) all have 'many' as part of their definitions. Going in order of
lower number to higher number signifies a higher quantity. These numbers are
often used figuratively, such as 万歳{ばんざい}（萬歳）signifying 'long life', while
literally meaning 10,000 years (of age). 万 is often used in the figurative
sense to convey something similar to permanence or eternity, though not quite
in the literal sense.

[百](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%99%BE) very many; lots. Advanced age.  
[千](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%8D%83) many; numerous; very.  
[万](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%B8%87) myriad; many; all; a large
number; everything

In the case of the naming of 万年筆, one would assume that it was mostly a
marketing device, giving the impression to the buyer that it would last
indefinitely.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-24T19:28:39.197
70318
2019-08-24T19:28:39.197
27280
70315
answer