Where does “ballplaying” come from?
ballplaying (English) comes from English ball, from Middle English ball, from Middle English bal, from Old English beall, from English beal, from Old English hyll, from Albanian hulli, from Proto-Germanic hulliz — to rise, to be tall; hill.
ballplaying (English): Taking part in ball games; being a ballplayer
Definitions
- Taking part in ball games; being a ballplayer
Ancestry of “ballplaying”, step by step
ballplaying traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English ball
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ball | A solid or hollow sphere, or roughly spherical... |
| 2 | Middle English | ball | Alternative form of bal; Alternative form of bale |
| 3 | Middle English | bal | A ball; A rounded or spherical lump or bump,... |
| 4 | Old English | beall | ball |
| 5 | English | beal | A small inflammatory tumor; pustule; To gather... |
| 6 | Old English | hyll | hill |
| 7 | Albanian | hulli | furrow |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | hulliz | hill |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kl̥Hnís | hill |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kelH- | to rise, to be tall; hill |
via English playing
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | playing | An occasion on which something, such as a song or... |
| 2 | English | -ing | Used to form gerunds, a type of verbal nouns,... |
| 3 | Old English | -ing | Forming nouns from verbs, indicating action,... |
| 4 | Old English | -tūn | homestead, village, town |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |