Where does “basket case” come from?
basket case (English) comes from English Case, from German Käse, from Middle High German kæse, from Old High German kāsi, from Proto-West Germanic kāsī, from Proto-Germanic kāsijaz, from Latin cāseus, from Proto-Indo-European kwat- — to ferment, become sour; to boil.
basket case (English): One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves,...
Definitions
- One made powerless or ineffective, as by nerves,...
Ancestry of “basket case”, step by step
basket case traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Case
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Case | abstract feature of a noun phrase that determines... |
| 2 | German | Käse | cheese; nonsense |
| 3 | Middle High German | kæse | cheese |
| 4 | Old High German | kāsi | cheese |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | kāsī | cheese |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | kāsijaz | cheese |
| 7 | Latin | cāseus | cheese |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kwat- | to ferment, become sour; to boil |
via English basket
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | basket | A lightweight container, generally round, open at... |
| 2 | Middle English | basket | A basket; The amount that fits in a basket |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman French | bascat | — |
| 4 | Late Latin | bascauda | kettle, table-vessel |
| 5 | Proto-Celtic | baski | bundle, load |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰask- | bundle, band |