Where does “backswing” come from?
Backswing, composed of back and swing, derives from English back, from French bac, from Middle English bakke, from Old Swedish nattbakka, from Latin bassus, from Ancient Greek βάσις meaning foundation or base, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷémtis.
backswing (English): The preparatory stroke preceding that which...
Definitions
- The preparatory stroke preceding that which...
Ancestry of “backswing”, step by step
backswing traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English back
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | back | Near the rear; Not current; Far from the main... |
| 2 | French | bac | ferry; vat; high school exit exam in France; A... |
| 3 | French | baccalauréat | baccalaureat; bachelor's degree |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | baccalaureatus | bachelor's degree |
| 5 | Latin | baccalaureus | bachelor |
| 6 | Latin | laurea | laurel, bay tree; crown, wreath or branch of... |
| 7 | Latin | laurus | laurel tree; laurels; a crown of laurel |
| 8 | English | -aceous | Of, relating to, resembling or containing the... |
| 9 | Latin | -āceus | aceous; resembling, having the nature of, forming, belonging to |
| 10 | Latin | -āx | ish, -y |
| 11 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 12 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 13 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |
via English Swing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Swing | To rotate about an off-centre fixed point |
| 2 | Middle English | swyngen | To strike or land a blow |
| 3 | Old English | swingan | to swinge, flog, beat, scourge; to give a blow... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *swingan | to swing |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | swinganą | to swing |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | swenk- | to bend, swing, swivel |