'shipborne' originates from English, specifically a compound of 'ship' and 'borne', where 'ship' meant 'a vessel' and 'borne' is the past participle of 'bear' meaning 'carried'.

'borne' comes from Old English 'boren' (the past participle of 'beran'), ultimately from Proto-Germanic '*beraną'; 'ship' comes from Old English 'scip', from Proto-Germanic '*skipą'. The compound 'shipborne' developed in Modern English by combining these elements.

Initially it meant 'carried by or on a ship', and over time it has largely retained this core meaning while also being used for things originating on a ship (e.g., 'shipborne radar').