Where does “belly button” come from?
belly button (English) comes from English button, from French bouton, from Italian bottone, from Spanish botón, from Old French boton, from Old French bouter, from Frankish bautan, from Proto-West Germanic bautan — to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...
belly button (English): The navel
Ancestry of “belly button”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | button | A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or ,... |
| 2 | French | bouton | button; bud; pimple, spot, zit |
| 3 | Italian | bottone | button; bud |
| 4 | Spanish | botón | button; key; bud |
| 5 | Old French | boton | — |
| 6 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 7 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |
Words derived from “belly button”