Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “beakful” come from?

beakful (English) comes from English beak, from Middle English bec, from Anglo-Norman bec, from Old French bec, from Latin beccus, from Latin -āceus, from Latin -āx, from Latin -ium — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.

beakful (English): As much as a bird's beak will hold or carry

Definitions

  1. As much as a bird's beak will hold or carry

Ancestry of “beakful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishbeak"Anatomical uses"; "Figurative uses"; "Colloquial...
2Middle Englishbec—
3Anglo-Normanbec—
4Old Frenchbec—
5Latinbeccusbeak, bill
6Latin-āceus—
7Latin-āx—
8Latin-iumSuffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes...
9Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
10Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
11Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →