Where does “barnyard” come from?
Barnyard comes from English barn, from Middle English barn, from Old Norse barn, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰer-.
barnyard (English): The yard associated with or surrounding a barn
Definitions
- The yard associated with or surrounding a barn
Ancestry of “barnyard”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | barn | A building, often found on a farm, used for... |
| 2 | Middle English | barn | A member of one's immediate offspring or progeny;... |
| 3 | Old English | bearn | child; first/third-person singular preterite of... |
| 4 | Old English | bereærn | barn, granary |
| 5 | Old English | bere | barley; first-person singular present indicative... |
| 6 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 9 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 10 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |