Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Whitehorse” come from?

Whitehorse combines English white and horse, with white deriving from Middle English white, Middle English -en suffix, Proto-Germanic hwītaz, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European ḱers-.

Ancestry of “Whitehorse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishWhiteAlternative letter-case form of white; An...
2Englishsoxplural of sock
3Englishsocksplural of sock; Third-person singular simple...
4EnglishsockA knitted or woven covering for the foot; A shoe...
5Frenchsocplowshare; Boston butt
6Vulgar Latinsoccus—
7Proto-Celticsukkos—
8Proto-Indo-EuropeansuH-pig, hog, swine
9Proto-Indo-EuropeansewH-to bear; to give birth
10Proto-Indo-Europeansew-to press out, extract; juice; liquid, rain; to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sew- →