Where does “Goldilocks” come from?
Goldilocks is a diminutive formation from Middle English goldy, combining gold with a diminutive suffix to create an affectionate term for golden-haired person or object.
Goldilocks (English): A golden-haired young girl, featuring as the protagonist of a traditional fairy tale, who inquisitively enters the house of three bears and tries their three bowls of porridge, three chairs and three beds, in each case finding only one that suits her
Definitions
- A golden-haired young girl, featuring as the protagonist of a traditional fairy tale, who inquisitively enters the house of three bears and tries their three bowls of porridge, three chairs and three beds, in each case finding only one that suits her
Ancestry of “Goldilocks”, step by step
Goldilocks traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English goldy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | goldy | golden |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |
via English locks
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | locks | plural of lock; an head of hair, tresses;... |