Where does “armlength” come from?

armlength (English) comes from English arm, from Middle English arm, from Old English earm, from Proto-West Germanic arm, from Proto-Germanic armaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ermos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂er- — to fit, to fix, to put together.

armlength (English): The length of each arm of an interferometer

Definitions

  1. The length of each arm of an interferometer

Ancestry of “armlength”, step by step

armlength traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English arm

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglisharmThe portion of the upper human appendage, from...
2Middle Englisharmarm; poor; miserable, wretched
3Old Englishearmarm; poor, miserable
4Proto-West Germanicarmarm; poor, miserable; pitiful, pitiable
5Proto-Germanicarmazarm; poor, miserable; pitiful, pitiable
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ermos
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂er-to fit, to fix, to put together

via English length

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlengthThe distance measured along the longest dimension...
2Middle Englishlengthelength
3Old Englishlengþulength
4Proto-Germaniclangiþōlongness, length
5Proto-Germaniclangazlong
6Proto-Indo-Europeandlongʰoslong
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂er-