Where does “backboneless” come from?
backboneless (English) comes from English backbone, from Middle English bakbon, from Middle English bak, from Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, from Old English on, from Proto-West Germanic ana, from Proto-Germanic *an — on, onto.
backboneless (English): Without a backbone; invertebrate; Cowardly,...
Definitions
- Without a backbone; invertebrate; Cowardly,...
Ancestry of “backboneless”, step by step
backboneless traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English backbone
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | backbone | The series of vertebrae, separated by disks, that... |
| 2 | Middle English | bakbon | The backbone or a part of it |
| 3 | Middle English | bak | The back, hind, or rear of a being's body; The... |
| 4 | Middle English | abak | backward, away |
| 5 | Old English | onbæc | backwards, back |
| 6 | Old English | on | on, in, at, among; from |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | ana | on |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *an | — |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | ana | on, at; on, onto; ana |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |