Where does “Block Island Sound” come from?
Block Island Sound (English) comes from English Sound, from Middle English sound, from Old English sund, from Old Norse sund, from Proto-Germanic sundą, from Proto-Germanic swimmaną, from Proto-Indo-European swem(bʰ)- — to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim.
Block Island Sound (English): A strait in the Atlantic Ocean separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island in the United States
Definitions
- A strait in the Atlantic Ocean separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island in the United States
Ancestry of “Block Island Sound”, step by step
Block Island Sound traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Sound
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Sound | The strait that separates Zealand (an island of Denmark) from Scania (part of Sweden); also sometimes called by the Danish name, Øresund |
| 2 | Middle English | sound | — |
| 3 | Old English | sund | swimming; sea, water |
| 4 | Old Norse | sund | swimming; strait, sound; swimming, sound |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sundą | swimming; sound, strait |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | swimmaną | to be unsteady; to swim; float |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | swem(bʰ)- | to bend, turn, swing; to be unsteady, move, swim |
via English Block Island
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Block Island | coextensive with the town of New Shoreham |