One way to hold steamer is the thing that runs on steam. Water is heated until it turns to a hot white cloud, and that cloud is made to do work. On a ship the steam turns the wheels and drives the hull across the sea. In a kitchen it rises through a basket and cooks what sits above it. The -er names whatever is doing that job, so the word keeps pointing at the source of power rather than at a shape or a size.
steamer 可以想成「靠蒸氣做事的那個」。水被燒到變成白色的熱氣，而這團熱氣被拿來出力。在船上，它推動輪子，把整艘船送過海。在廚房裡，它從下面升上來，把上面的食物弄熟。-er 只是說「做這件事的那一個」。所以這個字真正指的是動力來源，不是某個固定的形狀或大小。
From the word’s history
The word is steam + -er, the thing that works by steam.
這個字是 steam 加上 -er 組成的，字面就是「靠蒸氣運作的那個」。
Wiktionary entry for steamer (etymology 1), supplied in the evidence packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1023572598): From steam + -er.
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