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 ?