Where does “babysitter” come from?
babysitter (Dutch) comes from Dutch babysitten, from English babysit, from English babysitter, from English baby, from Middle English baby, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g — -y, -ic.
babysitter (Dutch): babysitter
Definitions
- babysitter
Ancestry of “babysitter”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | babysitten | to babysit |
| 2 | English | babysit | To watch or tend someone else's child for a... |
| 3 | English | babysitter | A person who cares for one or more babies or... |
| 4 | English | baby | A very young human, particularly from birth to a... |
| 5 | Middle English | baby | A child or baby |
| 6 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 7 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |