Where does “Shouldergate” come from?

Shouldergate (English) comes from English gate, from Middle English gate, from Old English ġeat, from Old French gaut, from Proto-West Germanic walþu, from Proto-Germanic walþuz, from Proto-Indo-European wel- — to see.

Shouldergate (English): A 1978 controversy around the Pittsburgh Steelers practising in shoulder pads during an off-season period in which such drills were not allowed under NFL rules

Definitions

  1. A 1978 controversy around the Pittsburgh Steelers practising in shoulder pads during an off-season period in which such drills were not allowed under NFL rules

Ancestry of “Shouldergate”, step by step

Shouldergate traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English gate

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgateA doorlike structure outside a house; Doorway,...
2Middle EnglishgateAn entryway or entrance to a settlement or...
3Old Englishġeatgate; a gate, door
4Old Frenchgautforest, woods, woodland
5Proto-West Germanicwalþuforest
6Proto-Germanicwalþuzforest
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwel-to see

via English shoulder

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishshoulderThe part of an animal's body between the base of...
2Middle EnglishschuldreThe shoulder; One's strength or carrying...
3Old Englishsċuldrashoulder
4Proto-West Germanicskuldrushoulder
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wel-