Where does “basketful” come from?

Basketful is a Middle English compound of basket and ful, meaning the amount that a basket can hold.

basketful (English): The amount that will fit into a basket

Definitions

  1. The amount that will fit into a basket

Ancestry of “basketful”, step by step

basketful traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English basket

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbasketA lightweight container, generally round, open at...
2Middle EnglishbasketA basket; The amount that fits in a basket
3Anglo-Norman Frenchbascat—
4Late Latinbascaudakettle, table-vessel
5Proto-Celticbaskibundle, load
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰask-bundle, band

via Middle English basket ful

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbasket ful—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰask- →Every word from Proto-Celtic baski →Every word from Late Latin bascauda →