Where does “ballast” come from?
Ballast comes from Middle English bar, Old English hlæst, Proto-Germanic hlastuz, and Proto-Indo-European kleh₂-, ultimately from the root bʰos-.
ballast (English): Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a...
Definitions
- Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a...
Ancestry of “ballast”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | bar | Alternative form of bor |
| 2 | Old English | bær | bare, naked, unconcealed |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | baʀ | bare, naked |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | bazaz | bare, naked |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰosós | bare, barefoot |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰos- | to sally forth, barge, hurtle out; bare, barefoot |
Words derived from “ballast”