Where does “babyspeak” come from?
babyspeak (English) comes from English baby, from Middle English baby, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.
babyspeak (English): The infantile protolanguage of babies; The...
Definitions
- The infantile protolanguage of babies; The...
Ancestry of “babyspeak”, step by step
babyspeak traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English baby
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | baby | A very young human, particularly from birth to a... |
| 2 | Middle English | baby | A child or baby |
| 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 speak
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | speak | To communicate with one's voice, to say words out... |
| 2 | Middle English | speke | — |
| 3 | Old English | specan | Alternative form of sprecan; to speak |
| 4 | Old English | sprecan | to speak, talk |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *sprekan | to speak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sprekaną | to speak, to make a noise |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | spreg- | to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,... |