Where does “backbone” come from?
Backbone comes from Middle English bakbon, composed of Middle English bak and Old English bān, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰog-.
backbone (English): The series of vertebrae, separated by disks, that...
Definitions
- The series of vertebrae, separated by disks, that...
Ancestry of “backbone”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bakbon | The backbone or a part of it |
| 2 | Middle English | bak | The back, hind, or rear of a being's body; The... |
| 3 | Middle English | abak | backward, away |
| 4 | Old English | onbæc | backwards, back |
| 5 | Old English | on | on, in, at, among; from |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | ana | on |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *an | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | ana | on, at; on, onto; ana |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |