Where does “belly button ring” come from?
belly button ring (English) comes from English belly button, from English button, from French bouton, from Italian bottone, from Spanish botón, from Old French boton, from Old French bouter, from Frankish bautan — to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to...
belly button ring (English): A form of body art wherein a piercing is placed...
Definitions
- A form of body art wherein a piercing is placed...
Ancestry of “belly button ring”, step by step
belly button ring traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English belly button
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | belly button | The navel |
| 2 | English | button | A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or (buttonhole), serving as a fastener |
| 3 | French | bouton | button; bud; pimple, spot, zit |
| 4 | Italian | bottone | button; bud |
| 5 | Spanish | botón | button; key; bud |
| 6 | Old French | boton | — |
| 7 | Old French | bouter | to strike; to hit; to place; to put; to enter |
| 8 | Frankish | bautan | to push, strike, beat; to hit, strike; to hit,... |
| 9 | Proto-West Germanic | bautan | to beat |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | bautaną | to beat, push |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰewd- | to hit, strike; to beat, push; to strike, push,... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰew- | to grow, swell; to swell, wax, grow; to blow; to... |
via English ring
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ring | A solid object in the shape of a circle; A group... |
| 2 | Middle English | ryng | ring |
| 3 | Old English | hring | ring |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | hring | ring, circle |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hringaz | ring, circle; curve; sound, ring |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)krengʰ- | to turn, bend |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ker- | to cut off; to turn, bend |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sek- | to cut, cut off, sever |